Skandapurana 4.52.9.6

4.52.9.6

brahmeśvaraṃ ca saṃsthāpya vidhistatraiva saṃsthitaḥ .. 73 ..
parātanuriyaṃ kāśī viśveśasyeti niścitam ..
asyāḥ saṃsevanācchaṃbhurna kupyati puro mayi .. 74 ..
kaḥ prāpya kāśīṃ durmedhāḥ punastyaktumiheha te ..
anekajanmajanitakarmanirmūlanakṣamām .. 75 ..
viśvasaṃtāpasaṃhartuḥ sthāne viśvapatestanuḥ ..
saṃtāpyatetarāṃ kāśyā viśleṣaja mahāgninā .. 76 ..
prāpya kāśīṃ tyajedyastu samastāghaughanāśinīm..
nṛpaśuḥ sa parijñeyo mahāsaukhyaparāṅamukhaḥ .. 77 ..
nirvāṇalakṣmīṃ yaḥ kāṃkṣettyaktvā saṃsāradurgatim ..
tena kāśī na saṃtyājyā yadyāptaiśādanugrahāt .. 78 ..
yaḥ kāśīṃ saṃparityajya gacchedanyatra durmatiḥ ..
tasya hastatalādgaccheccaturvargaphalodayaḥ .. 79 ..
nibarhaṇī madhaughasya supuṇya paribṛṃhiṇīm ..
kaḥ prāpya kāśīṃ durmedhāstyajenmokṣasukhapradām.. 4.2.52.80 ..
satyaloke kva tatsaukhyaṃ kva saukhyaṃ vaiṣṇave pade ..
yatsaukhyaṃ labhyate kāśyāṃ nimeṣārdhaniṣevaṇāt .. 81 ..
vārāṇasīguṇagaṇānnirṇīya druhiṇastviti ..
vyāvṛtya maṃdaragiriṃ na punaḥ pratyagānmune ..82..
.. skaṃda uvāca .. ..
mitrāvaruṇayoḥ putra mahimānaṃ bravīmi te .. ..
kāśyāṃ daśāśvamedhasya sarvatīrthaśiromaṇeḥ .. 83 ..
daśāśvamedhikaṃ prāpya sarvatīrthottamottamam ..
yatkiṃcitkriyate karma tadakṣayamiheritam .. 84 ..
snānaṃ dānaṃ japo homaḥ svādhyāyo de vatārcanam ..
saṃdhyopāstistarpaṇaṃ ca śrāddhaṃ pitṛsamarcanam..85..
daśāśvamedhike tīrthe sakṛtsnātvā narottamaḥ .9.

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,