Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 80
प्रयागतोपि तीर्थेशात्सर्वेषु भुवनेष्वपि । अनायासेन वै मुक्तिः काश्यां देहावसानतः
prayāgatopi tīrtheśātsarveṣu bhuvaneṣvapi | anāyāsena vai muktiḥ kāśyāṃ dehāvasānataḥ
Selbst über Prayāga hinaus, dem Herrn der Tīrthas, ja in allen Welten, wird Befreiung mühelos erlangt, wenn das Leben in Kāśī sein Ende findet.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī / Avimukta
Type: kshetra
Scene: A dying devotee on the banks of Gaṅgā in Kāśī, hearing Śiva’s liberating presence; the city’s ghāṭs and temples glow; liberation depicted as light rising effortlessly.
FAQs
Kāśī is presented as uniquely powerful for liberation, especially at the moment of death.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), praised as granting anāyāsena mukti at dehāvasāna.
No rite is prescribed; the verse emphasizes the salvific significance of dying in Kāśī.