Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1
अगस्त्य उवाच । पार्वतीहृदयानंद स्कंद सर्वज्ञनंदन । काः कास्तु शक्तयस्ता वै तासां नामानि मे वद
agastya uvāca | pārvatīhṛdayānaṃda skaṃda sarvajñanaṃdana | kāḥ kāstu śaktayastā vai tāsāṃ nāmāni me vada
Agastya thưa: “Hỡi Skanda, niềm hoan hỷ trong tim của Pārvatī, người con làm vui lòng Đấng Toàn Tri—những Śakti ấy thật là những ai? Xin nói cho ta biết danh xưng của các Ngài.”
Agastya
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Skanda
Scene: Agastya, seated in a quiet āśrama-like setting within the Kāśī narrative frame, folds hands and questions Skanda about the supreme Śaktis; Skanda appears youthful, radiant, with spear and peacock emblem subtly present.
FAQs
Reverent inquiry into the Divine Feminine (Śakti) is presented as a legitimate path to understanding sacred power and its manifestations.
The broader frame is the Kāśī-khaṇḍa (Varanasi/Kāśī Māhātmya), though this verse itself is an opening question rather than a site-description.
None explicitly; the verse introduces a teaching by requesting the names of the Śaktis.