Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1
अगस्तिरुवाच । दिवोदासं नरपतिं कथं देवस्त्रिलोचनः । काशीं संत्याजयामास कथमागाच्च मंदरात् । एतदाख्यानमाख्याहि श्रोतॄणां प्रमुदे भगोः
agastiruvāca | divodāsaṃ narapatiṃ kathaṃ devastrilocanaḥ | kāśīṃ saṃtyājayāmāsa kathamāgācca maṃdarāt | etadākhyānamākhyāhi śrotṝṇāṃ pramude bhagoḥ
阿伽斯提耶（Agastya）说道：三目之主因天授王迪沃达萨（Divodāsa）而如何舍离迦尸（Kāśī）？又如何自曼陀罗山（Mandara）归来？愿尊者为听众之欢喜，宣说此神圣因缘。
Agastya
Tirtha: Kāśī (topic of inquiry)
Type: kshetra
Listener: The revered narrator addressed as “bhagaḥ” (contextually Skanda in this chapter’s frame)
Scene: Sage Agastya, seated in an āśrama setting, respectfully questions the narrator about Śiva’s departure from Kāśī and return from Mandara; listeners sit in a semicircle, eager and serene.
FAQs
Sacred geography is taught through sacred history: the glory of Kāśī is illuminated by asking why even Śiva’s presence appears to shift in divine play.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) and, secondarily, Mandara mountain as the setting of the episode.
None; it is a narrative prompt requesting the account.