Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34
सर्वः प्रकृत्या ज्ञायेत स्थाणुः प्रकृतिवर्जितः । प्रायशः पुरुषोनासावर्धनारीवपुर्यतः
sarvaḥ prakṛtyā jñāyeta sthāṇuḥ prakṛtivarjitaḥ | prāyaśaḥ puruṣonāsāvardhanārīvapuryataḥ
众生皆以某种本性而可识；唯有常住者 Sthāṇu（湿婆 Śiva）离于一切局限之相。然而他亦非仅为男子，因为他被宣称为“半女神相”（Ardhanārī），形体半为女性。
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Kāśī / Avimukta
Type: kshetra
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame; not explicit)
Scene: Ardhanārīśvara appears above a Kāśī shrine: right half Śiva with matted locks and crescent moon, left half Devī with ornaments; below, the liṅga glows, suggesting the same reality beyond attributes.
FAQs
Śiva is beyond limiting attributes (nirguṇa) and beyond ordinary gender categories, yet manifests compassionately in forms like Ardhanārī for devotees.
Kāśī is the setting of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, and the verse supports Kāśī’s Śaiva theology rather than naming a distinct tīrtha.
None; it is a doctrinal statement about Śiva’s nature and manifestation.