Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 15
वरं काशीपुरीवासी म्लेच्छोपि हि शुभायतिः । नान्यत्रत्यो दीक्षितोपि स हि मुक्तेरभाजनम्
varaṃ kāśīpurīvāsī mlecchopi hi śubhāyatiḥ | nānyatratyo dīkṣitopi sa hi mukterabhājanam
بل إن «المليتشّا» الذي يسكن مدينة كاشي خيرٌ وأفضل، لأنه يصير ذا يُمنٍ وبركة؛ أمّا من نال الديكشا في موضعٍ آخر، وإن كان مُكرَّسًا، فليس حقًّا إناءً صالحًا للمُكتي (قياسًا).
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśīpurī / Avimukta
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage audience seeking criteria of mokṣa
Scene: A diverse group of Kāśī residents—pilgrims, ascetics, workers, and a foreigner/outsider figure—stand before Viśveśvara; a subtle aura of auspiciousness surrounds the resident, while a distant initiated ritualist elsewhere is shown without that luminous mokṣa-sign, emphasizing the verse’s inversion.
FAQs
Kāśī’s sanctity is portrayed as transformative beyond social identity, emphasizing place-based grace (sthāna-prabhāva) as a path toward auspiciousness and liberation.
Kāśīpurī (Vārāṇasī), upheld as a foremost mokṣa-kṣetra.
Dīkṣā is referenced but not prescribed; the verse stresses that mere initiation elsewhere is inferior to the liberating potency associated with Kāśī-residence.