Skandapurana 4.55

Skanda said:

The other gaṇas who established liṅgas there in Kāśī—

about them too I shall tell you, O pot-born one; listen!

By the gaṇa named Piṅgala, the liṅga known as Piṅgaleśa

of Śambhu was installed in the northern direction from Kapardīśa.

By the mere darśana of it, destruction of sins occurs.

Vīrabhadra, greatly cherished by the god of gods who holds the trident,

even today unswervingly meditates upon the Vīrabhadreśvara liṅga.

By the mere darśana of it, the accomplishment of a hero is produced.

A man, having worshipped Vīrabhadreśvara

to the west of Avimukteśvara, will never meet defeat in battle.

Vīrabhadra himself, directly bearing the form of a hero, O sage,

protects the assembly of brahmins dwelling in Avimukta.

Accompanied by the auspicious Bhadrakālī, his auspicious wife,

a man who worships Vīrabhadra obtains the fruit of living in Kāśī.

The Kirāteśa liṅga was installed in Kāśī by Kirāta,

in the southern direction from Kedāra, granting fearlessness to devotees.

Near Vṛddhakāleśa, the glorious gaṇa Caturmukha

even today unswervingly meditates upon the Caturmukheśvara liṅga.

Devotees of Caturmukheśa, like the four-faced one [Brahmā] in heaven,

are worshipped by hosts of gods, endowed with all enjoyments.

Having beheld Nikumbheśvara, worshipped by the gaṇa Nikumbha,

and having worshipped [it], one who goes to a village will obtain success in his undertaking;

near Kubereśa, however, he is exalted in the world of Śiva.

Having worshipped the great liṅga Pañcākṣeśa to the south of Mahādeva,

a man in Kāśī obtains memory of previous births.

Having meditated upon the Bhārabhūteśvara liṅga, worshipped by the gaṇa Bhārabhūta,

at the northern gate of the Antargṛha, one shall dwell in the city of Śiva.

Those by whom the Bhārabhūteśvara liṅga has not been seen in Kāśī

have become a burden to the earth, like barren trees.

The supreme Tryakṣeśvara liṅga [established] by the gaṇa named Tryakṣa

in front of Trilocana is frequented even today, O pot-born one.

Those who are devotees of that liṅga, upon the end of the body,

verily become three-eyed; no doubt should be had in this matter.

The leader of gaṇas named Kṣemaka, taking physical form himself in Kāśī,

even today unswervingly meditates upon the all-pervading Viśveśvara.

Whoever worships Kṣemaka, the great gaṇa in Vārāṇasī,

his obstacles dissolve and well-being attends him at every step.

With the desire for the return of one who has gone to another country,

Kṣemaka should be worshipped here; he will quickly return in safety.

Having beheld the Lāṅgalīśvara liṅga worshipped by Lāṅgalin,

to the north of Viśveśa, a man shall not fall prey to disease.

Worshipping Lāṅgalīśa once, [the merit] born of the gift of five ploughs

a man attains in full, the supreme cause of all prosperity.

Having worshipped Virādheśvara, who is worshipped by the gaṇa Virādha,

even though loaded with all transgressions, one commits no fault anywhere.

Whatever transgression is committed day by day by the residents of Kāśī,

that is swiftly destroyed through the worship of Virādheśa.

To the southwest of Daṇḍapāṇi, Virādheśa with devotion

having bowed down to, one is freed from all transgressions; of this there is no doubt.

The great liṅga Sumukheśa, worshipped by the gaṇa named Sumukha,

which faces west—having seen that liṅga, one is freed from sins.

Having bathed in the Pilipilā tīrtha and having beheld Sumukheśa,

one will always see the King of Dharma with a gracious face, not with a wrathful face.

The liṅga worshipped by Āṣāḍhin, known by the name Āṣāḍhīśvara,

having seen [it] with devotion on the full moon of Āṣāḍha, a man is freed from all sins.

Worshipping Āṣāḍhīśa to the north of Bhārabhūteśa,

on the fifteenth day of the month of Āṣāḍha indeed, one is not tormented by sins.

On the bright fourteenth day of Śuci or on the fifteenth day,

having performed the annual pilgrimage, a man becomes free from sin.

Skanda said:

O sage, when these gaṇas had thus settled in Vārāṇasī,

having installed liṅgas under their own names for the pleasure of Viśveśa,

Viśveśa reflected concerning news of Kāśī once more:

‘Whom, indeed, having sent as a benefactor today, may I attain supreme peace?

The Yoginīs, the Sun, Vidhi, and the gaṇas headed by Śaṅkukarṇa,

having turned away [from returning], have not come back from Kāśī, just as rivers [disappear into] the ocean.

Indeed, those who have entered Kāśī have entered my belly;

for them there is no coming out, just as oblations [do not return] from a blazing fire.

Those whose dwelling is indeed in Kāśī, whose minds are devoted to worshipping the liṅga,

they alone are my moving liṅgas; of this there is no doubt.

The immobile and the mobile in Kāśī, the inanimate and the animate,

all are indeed my liṅgas; evil-minded ones bear malice toward them.

Those on whose tongues is “Vārāṇasī” and in whose hearing is the story of Viśveśvara,

they themselves are the excellent liṅgas of Kāśī, to be worshipped like myself.

“Vārāṇasī”, “Kāśī”, “the abode of Rudra”—clearly

from whose mouth [these words] have issued, over them Yama cannot prevail.

Having reached the Forest of Bliss, those who desire another joyless ground,

even in their hearts, are always joyless here.

Whether death comes today or after a long period,

out of fear of the Kali age, Kāśī must never be abandoned by men.

Inevitable occurrences will come to pass at every step;

from where [would come the wisdom that] intellects abandon Kāśī, the abode of fortune?

Better that a thousand obstacles be endured at every step

in Kāśī; nowhere else should one desire even a kingdom without obstacles.

How many fleeting moments of enjoyment are there in riches at every step?

Supreme, of continuous joy both in the next world and in this one, what compares to Kāśī?

I am indeed the lord Viśvanātha; Kāśī is the manifest radiance of liberation;

the celestial Gaṅgā has waves of nectar: what does this triad not bestow?

This city of mine, measuring five krośas, is my body,

an unbroken abundance of authority, the cause of liberation for devotees.

For those distressed by the burden of saṃsāra, constantly engaged in coming and going,

my single city Kāśī is truly the resting ground.

A bower of wish-fulfilling vines, filled to abundance with the fruits of desire,

this place named Kāśikā has borne fruit always for those treading the path of saṃsāra.

This is the wondrous parasol of an emperor, dispelling all distress;

it is the king of liberation of Kāśī, like the tall shaft of my trident.

Those virtuous ones who effortlessly desire the fortune of liberation,

for the sake of obtaining uninterrupted joy, Kāśī must not be abandoned by those men.

Those who are dwellers in my Forest of Bliss continually,

they obtain here the delicious fruits that are the fortune of liberation.

Which can captivate even me, free from mineness and free from delusion —

by whom should that Kāśī, who captivates the universe, not be remembered?

Her very name is sweet, revealing supreme bliss;

by what merits is that Kāśī not chanted as 'Kāśī! Kāśī!'?

Those who constantly drink the nectar of the name of Kāśī,

their path becomes indeed a splendid abode made of the earth [liberated from sorrow].

Though I am free from mineness, being the Self of all, certainly

those alone are mine in the world who chant the name of Kāśī.

Knowing this secret of Vārāṇasī, the lords of Gaṇas,

along with Brahmā, the Yoginīs, and the Sun, have stayed right there, and not otherwise.

Otherwise, how could those Yoginīs, along with the Sun and the Grandfather [Brahmā],

and those Gaṇas, abandon me and dwell elsewhere?

It has turned out exceedingly well indeed that they are staying in Kāśī;

for even a single dissension may occur in a kingdom without another kingdom.

Since all of them have gained entry, having my own nature,

they will certainly strive to bring about my arrival.

I shall send others as well who are by my side;

when those excellent ones are stationed there, I too shall go thence."

Having reflected thus, Mahādeva summoned Gajānana,

and sent him, saying: "Go to Kāśī from here, my son!

Stationed there, strive together with the Gaṇas for full success;

make [things] free of obstacles for us, and create an obstacle for the king."

Placing the command of Dhūrjaṭi upon his head, the lord of Gaṇas then,

knowing proper order, swiftly departed for Kāśī for the sake of establishing [our] stay.

Thus ends the fifty-fifth chapter, named 'The Description of Kāśī and the Dispatch of Gaṇeśa,' in the latter half of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa in the eighty-one-thousand-verse Compendium of the glorious Skandapurāṇa.