Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34
ढुंढे प्रणम्यपुरतस्तवपादपद्मं यो मां नमस्यति पुमानिह काशिवासी । तत्कर्णमूलमधिगम्य पुरा दिशामि तत्किंचिदत्र न पुनर्भवतास्ति येन
ḍhuṃḍhe praṇamyapuratastavapādapadmaṃ yo māṃ namasyati pumāniha kāśivāsī | tatkarṇamūlamadhigamya purā diśāmi tatkiṃcidatra na punarbhavatāsti yena
噢Ḍhuṃḍhe，凡居于迦尸者，先在你前顶礼，虔敬礼拜你的莲足——我便趋近其耳根，传授那古老秘要；凭此，在此处便不再回返于再生轮回。
Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda instructing Agastya / narrating Kāśī-māhātmya)
Tirtha: Dhūṇḍhirāja Vināyaka (Kāśī)
Type: temple
Listener: Dhūṇḍhirāja (addressed) and indirectly the Kāśī-vāsī devotee
Scene: A Kāśī resident bows at Dhūṇḍhirāja’s lotus feet; a divine figure (or subtle, unseen presence) leans to whisper into the devotee’s ear—depicting the ‘purā’ (ancient) secret that ends rebirth. Background shows a quiet alley-temple with lamp-light and Ganga’s distant shimmer.
FAQs
In Kāśī, humble devotion—expressed by bowing to the deity’s lotus-feet—qualifies one to receive the liberating instruction that cuts off rebirth.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) itself is praised as the sacred field where the saving upadeśa is granted to the Kāśīvāsī.
Praṇāma and namaskāra—bowing in front of the deity and saluting the lotus-feet—are highlighted as the devotional act linked to receiving mokṣa-giving instruction.