Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 74
परातनुरियं काशी विश्वेशस्येति निश्चितम् । अस्याः संसेवनाच्छंभुर्न कुप्यति पुरो मयि
parātanuriyaṃ kāśī viśveśasyeti niścitam | asyāḥ saṃsevanācchaṃbhurna kupyati puro mayi
“Kāśī này chính là thân thể tối thượng của Viśveśvara”—điều ấy chắc chắn. Nhờ phụng sự với lòng bhakti đối với nàng, Śambhu không giận ta ngay trước thánh nhan.
Skanda (deduced; verse reads like Brahmā’s realization within narration)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta) as Viśveśvara’s parātanu
Type: kshetra
Scene: A visionary tableau where the map of Kāśī overlays a cosmic Śiva-form: ghāṭas as ornaments, temples as chakras/limbs; Brahmā contemplates this certainty, feeling protected from Śiva’s displeasure through kṣetra-sevā.
FAQs
Kāśī is not merely a city but a divine embodiment of Viśveśvara; serving the kṣetra is itself a way of pleasing Śiva.
Kāśī as Viśveśvara’s own ‘parā tanu’ (supreme embodiment), encompassing her tīrthas and sacred precincts.
Saṃsevanā—devoted resorting to and service of Kāśī (kṣetra-sevā), a devotional discipline rather than a single ritual act.