Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79
विना सांख्येन योगेन विना स्वात्मावलोकनम् । विना व्रत तपो दानैः श्रेयोऽस्तु प्राणिनामिह
vinā sāṃkhyena yogena vinā svātmāvalokanam | vinā vrata tapo dānaiḥ śreyo'stu prāṇināmiha
هنا، فليَنَلِ الأحياءُ الخيرَ الأسمى، ولو بلا سَانْكْهْيَا ولا يوغا، وبلا تأمّلٍ في الذات الباطنة، وبلا نذورٍ ولا تَقَشُّفٍ ولا صدقات.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī (mokṣa-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrims/seekers; traditional ṛṣi audience frame
Scene: Pilgrims of varied capacities—ascetics and householders—arrive in Kāśī; above them a calm Śiva-presence signifies that liberation is granted by kṣetra’s grace beyond technical disciplines.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as so spiritually potent that it can bestow śreyas even beyond ordinary disciplines like yoga, tapas, or dāna.
Kāśī/Ānandavana as a preeminent mokṣa-kṣetra.
The verse does not prescribe a rite; it emphasizes the extraordinary salvific power of the kṣetra itself.