Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 71
वाराणसीह करुणामयदिव्यमूर्तिरुत्सृज्य यत्र तु तनुं तनुभृत्सुखेन । विश्वेशदृङ्महसि यत्सहसा प्रविश्य रूपेण तां वितनुतां पदवीं दधाति
vārāṇasīha karuṇāmayadivyamūrtirutsṛjya yatra tu tanuṃ tanubhṛtsukhena | viśveśadṛṅmahasi yatsahasā praviśya rūpeṇa tāṃ vitanutāṃ padavīṃ dadhāti
Hier in Vārāṇasī tritt die mitleidsvolle, göttliche Gegenwart—wo das Wesen den Leib mühelos ablegt—jäh in den Glanz des Blickes Viśveśas ein und erlangt, in neuer Gestalt, jenen weit entfalteten, erhabenen Zustand.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī / Vārāṇasī (mokṣa-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahāmuni
Scene: A dying devotee on the ghats, serene and unafraid; above, Viśveśvara’s eyes emit a column of light that receives the subtle form, which blossoms into a luminous, expanded state.
FAQs
Vārāṇasī is portrayed as a uniquely grace-filled place where liberation is facilitated through Viśveśvara’s direct divine agency.
Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), as the kṣetra where leaving the body is said to become spiritually efficacious.
None; the verse highlights salvific grace associated with the place and Viśveśvara rather than a specific ritual.