Skandapurana 4.52.9

Skanda said: / When the ray-garlanded sun had gone to Kāśī, which enchants the three worlds, / Hara, staying on Mount Mandara, again fell into deep anxiety, O sage: / ‘Even today the yoginīs do not return; even today the sharp-rayed sun does not return. / Even news of Kāśī is exceedingly difficult for me to obtain—how strange! / What wonder is it that Kāśī shakes even my mind, / motionless though it is? What calculation then can be made of any other god? / With a glance I burned Kāma, the conqueror of the three worlds; / alas, longing for Kāśī torments me even more! / Whom indeed can I dispatch from here to investigate news of Kāśī? / Who indeed is skilled to discern it, except the four-faced one [Brahmā]?’ / Thus summoning the Creator with great respect / and seating him there, Śrīkaṇṭha spoke to the four-faced one: / ‘The yoginīs were sent previously; then the thousand-rayed sun was sent; / even today they do not return from Kāśī, O pot-born one! / That Kāśī stirs longing in my mind, O lord of the world, / like some fickle-eyed maiden stirs an ordinary man! / Here on Mandara, in this lovely cave, I find no great delight, / like a crocodile in a shallow pond of impure, turbid water! / The heat born of the hālāhala poison did not afflict me so, / as the anguish born of separation from Kāśī intensely afflicts me here! / Even though seated on my head, raining drops of nectar, / the cool-rayed moon is unable, alas, to dispel the heat born of separation from Kāśī! / O Creator, execute my task, O noble, foremost, wise one! / Go quickly from here to Kāśī, and strive for my desire! / O Brahmā, you alone know the reason for leaving Kāśī; / even a fool would not leave Kāśī, let alone one who understands anything! / Why should I not go to Kāśī this very day by my own māyā, O Brahmā? / But I do not wish to transgress King Divodāsa, who abides by his duty! / O Creator, since you yourself arrange all things that must be arranged, / saying “do this” and “do that” to you is altogether pointless!’

"Go without obstacle; let your path have an auspicious outcome!"
Taking the command upon his head, Brahmā went to Vārāṇasī with joy.
Quickly reaching the city of Vārāṇasī with his white-swan chariot,
the self-born Brahmā then considered himself to have achieved his purpose.
"Today the fruit of having a swan as my mount has been realized upon reaching Kāśī;
for at every step, obstacles are said to arise on the path to Kāśī.
Today the root *dṛś* ['to see'] has become meaningful in connection with my eyes,
since this pleasure-garden has clearly entered my field of vision—
which the river of heaven itself sprinkles with its waters,
where the trees are made of bliss, where the people are made of bliss!
In Kāśī they constantly enjoy blissful fruits as well;
Kāśī is forever the ground of bliss, and Śiva is forever the giver of bliss.
Therefore, living beings born in Kāśī are indeed embodiments of bliss.
Those alone are feet known to walk among the fortunate here,
which would walk about the earthly city of the Sustainer of the Universe.
Those alone are ears known as greatly learned in knowledge,
by which Kāśī has been heard of once in this world among men versed in the Vedas.
That alone thinks of everything, which is the mind among the wise in this world,
by which this Kāśī, the ground of all authorities, is acknowledged.
That intelligence alone understands everything here among the wise and virtuous,
by which this abode of Dhūrjaṭi is held and made its object.
Far better are those blades of grass and grains, even if tossed by a whirlwind,
that fall here in Kāśī, than men who have never seen Kāśī!
Today my lifespan, measured at two parārdhas, has borne fruit,
since during its course the city of Kāśikā, so difficult to reach, was reached by me!
Ah, the wealth of my merit! Ah, the greatness of my good fortune,
that today I have seen Kāśī, so long contemplated!
Today the tree of my austerity has borne abundant, truly great fruits
consisting of the fruits of my desires, sprinkled with the water of devotion to Śiva.

"Many kinds of creation were made by me as I unfolded the universe;
but Kāśī is unique, fashioned by the Lord of the Universe Himself."
With his mind delighted thus after seeing the city of Vārāṇasī,
the Creator, in the form of an old brahmin, saw the king.
With his hand holding water and unhusked barley-grains, having spoken a blessing to the ruler of the earth,
he was saluted with reverence by the king, and then sat on the seat offered by him.
Honored by the king with rising to greet him, offering a seat, and so forth,
the brahmin addressed the king, who asked the reason for his arrival:

The brahmin said:
"O protector of the earth, I have been here for a very long time; I am an ancient resident.
You, however, do not know me at all, but I know you, Ripuñjaya!
More than a hundred kings have been seen by me, who gave lavish priestly gifts,
conquered numerous battles, performed sacrifices, and controlled their senses;
who had cast out the group of six inner enemies, were of noble conduct, rich in virtue,
had crossed to the far shore of Vedic learning, and were skilled in statecraft;
who were adept in compassion and courtesy, dedicated to the vow of truth,
equal to the earth in forgiveness, and surpassed the ocean in profundity;
who conquered the surge of anger, were heroic, and were abodes of gentle beauty;
endowed with such virtues, who had well amassed the wealth of renown.
Yet, O royal sage, those two or three holy virtues of yours—
they have mostly not come into my sight among any of those kings!
Your subjects are your own family; you revere brahmins as deities;
you are an ally of great austerity: other kings were not of this path.
You are blessed and respected by the good; you are worthy of worship for your noble virtues.
Even the gods, O Divodāsa, do not wander from the path out of fear of you!
What need have we, desireless brahmins, of praising you, O king?
What can we do? The multitude of your virtues turns us into panegyrists!
Let this discourse rest for now; I shall speak of the matter at hand.
I wish to perform a sacrifice, O king, and therefore I choose you as my helper.
With you as its ruler, this earth is an abode of all prosperity.

"And I possess abundant wealth, O king, great wealth acquired righteously.
And this capital of yours is supreme in the land of ritual action;
in it, whatever deeds are performed do not perish even at the dissolution of the world.
Whatever wealth is accumulated by men walking the noble path of righteousness
should be applied in Kāśī; otherwise it will lead only to distress.
No one knows the supreme greatness of Kāśī, O lord of the earth,
except the three-eyed Śambhu, who bestows all knowledge.
I consider you most blessed, since by meritorious deeds earned across hundreds of births
you protect Kāśī, the supreme body of the Sustainer of the Universe.
Kāśī is the essence of the three worlds, the very essence of the three Vedas,
and the supreme essence beyond the three goals of life—so it has been determined by the great seers.
Only by the grace of the Lord of the Universe is this city protected by you.
From the protection of even one person in Kāśī, the three worlds become protected.
Furthermore, I tell you what is beneficial, if it pleases you, O blameless one:
the Lord of the Universe alone should always be pleased by all actions.
Never look upon the Lord of the Universe as another deity, O king!
Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Indra, the moon, and the sun are merely the play of that Dhūrjaṭi.
Because kings are to be instructed by brahmins who desire good future outcomes,
therefore what is beneficial to you has been spoken. Or what is this concern to me?"
To the brahmin who thus remained silent, the best of kings replied:
"Everything that was spoken by you, O best of brahmins, has been held in my heart."
The king said:
"To you who desire to sacrifice, in the matter of your assistance,
I am a servant; not one among a hundred sacrificial materials is missing.
Whatever is mine, in all the seven constituents of the realm, you are the master over it.
Perform your sacrifice with a single mind, O brahmin; consider your wish accomplished!
That I rule the kingdom, O brahmin, is not in the least for my own sake;
with my sons, my wives, and my body, I strive for the benefit of others.
For kings, even above sacrificial rites and even above all sacred fords everywhere,
the protection of the subjects alone has been proclaimed by the wise as the one duty."

"The fire born of distress among subjects is more terrible even than the fire of a thunderbolt; / the fire of a thunderbolt burns two or three, but the former consumes a kingdom, family, and body. / When I am about to take the avabhṛtha bath, O best of brahmins, / I then perform an ablution with the water from the feet of brahmins. / The oblation I make into the mouth of a brahmin, O best among the twice-born— / I consider that superior even to sacrificial rites, O great-minded one. / Among all desires, one keeps vigil here in my heart: / even today, some petitioner asking even for my own body must be seen. / Oh, after many days my wish has borne fruit, / since today you have arrived at my house to make a request, O brahmin. / With a focused mind, O brahmin, perform many sacrifices / with lavish sacrificial fees; know that assistance is given in all matters." / Having heard this speech of the deeply wise, righteous king, / the Creator, pleased in mind, brought together the provisions for the sacrifice. / Having received the assistance of the royal seer Divodāsa, the lotus-born [Brahmā] / sacrificed in Kāśī with ten horse-sacrifices, great sacrificial rites. / The space of the sky was filled with masses of sacrificial smoke even then; / from that time on, this sky has not lost its blueness. / The sacred ford named Daśāśvamedha became renowned across the earthly realm; / from that time on it existed in Vārāṇasī, bestowing auspiciousness. / Formerly, O pot-born [Agastya], that sacred ford was known as Rudrasaras; / it later became known as Daśāśvamedhika due to its adoption by the Creator. / Then the celestial river arrived through the coming of Bhagīratha; / hence that supreme sacred ford became exceedingly meritorious. / Having consecrated the liṅga Daśāśvamedheśa there indeed, / the Creator remained; even to this day he has gone nowhere leaving Kāśī behind. / He found no flaw whatsoever in that king devoted to righteousness; / hence what could the Creator say, going before the enemy of Tripura? / Recognizing the power of the sacred field, meditating on Śiva the Lord of the Universe,

and having established Brahmeśvara, the Creator remained right there. / "Kāśī is determined to be the supreme body of the Lord of the Universe; / from serving it, Śambhu will not be angry with me in person. / What foolish person, having attained Kāśī, would ever wish to abandon it here again, / capable [as it is] of uprooting karma generated through many births? / In the abode of the Lord of the Universe, who destroys the distress of the universe, his body / is sorely tormented by the great fire born of separation from Kāśī. / But whoever, having attained Kāśī, which destroys the mass of all sins, would abandon it, / should be recognized as a beast in human form, turning his back on supreme joy. / Whoever desires the fortune of nirvāṇa, leaving behind the misery of saṃsāra, / must not abandon Kāśī if it is obtained by the grace of Īśa. / That fool who, completely abandoning Kāśī, would go elsewhere— / from the palm of his hand departs the rising fruit of the four aims of life. / Destroyer of a multitude of sins, enhancer of immense merit, / bestower of the bliss of liberation—having reached Kāśī, what foolish person would abandon it? / Where is such bliss in Satyaloka? Where is bliss in the abode of Viṣṇu, / as that bliss which is obtained in Kāśī by worshipping for half a moment?" / Having thus resolved upon the multitude of virtues of Vārāṇasī, Druhiṇa [Brahmā], / turning away, did not return again to Mount Mandara, O sage. / Skanda said: / O son of Mitra and Varuṇa, I shall tell you the greatness / of Daśāśvamedha in Kāśī, the crest-jewel of all sacred fords. / Having reached Daśāśvamedhika, the best of the best of all sacred fords, / whatever action is performed is said to be imperishable here. / Bathing, giving gifts, silent recitation, oblations into the fire, study of the Vedas, worship of deities, / twilight prayers, water libations, ancestral rites, and honoring the ancestors— / having bathed once at the sacred ford of Daśāśvamedhika, the best among men,