Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51
अधोक्षजात्परोधर्मो नार्थो नारायणात्परः । न कामः केशवादन्यो नापवर्गो हरिं विना
adhokṣajātparodharmo nārtho nārāyaṇātparaḥ | na kāmaḥ keśavādanyo nāpavargo hariṃ vinā
لا دَرْمَ أعلى من التعبّد لأدهوكشاجا (Adhokṣaja)؛ ولا غاية للثروة أسمى من نارايانا (Nārāyaṇa). ولا رغبة أرفع من كيشافا (Keśava)، ولا فكاك ولا تحرّر من دون هاري (Hari).
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (general)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A teacher-sage on a Kāśī ghāṭ instructs disciples, pointing to a four-petaled emblem of puruṣārthas converging into a central Viṣṇu form labeled Adhokṣaja/Nārāyaṇa/Keśava/Hari; the Gaṅgā flows behind as a symbol of liberation.
FAQs
All human aims (dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa) find their highest fulfillment only in relation to Hari.
The Kāśī-khaṇḍa context frames the doctrine within Kāśī’s mahātmya, but the verse itself is universal rather than site-specific.
No specific ritual; it establishes a hierarchy of values centered on devotion to Hari.