Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 94
नास्तीह दुष्कृतकृतां सुकृतात्मनां वा काचिद्विशेषगतिरंतकृतां हि काश्याम् । बीजानि कर्मजनितानि यदूषरायां नांकूरंयति हरदृग्ज्वलितानितेषाम्
nāstīha duṣkṛtakṛtāṃ sukṛtātmanāṃ vā kācidviśeṣagatiraṃtakṛtāṃ hi kāśyām | bījāni karmajanitāni yadūṣarāyāṃ nāṃkūraṃyati haradṛgjvalitāniteṣām
Hier in Kāśī gibt es keinen besonderen Weg nach dem Tod, weder für Übeltäter noch für von Natur Tugendhafte; denn in Kāśī gewährt der Herr, der den Tod selbst beendet, denselben höchsten Übergang. Die aus Karma entstandenen Samen treiben nicht aus, wenn Haras feuriger Blick sie versengt—wie Samen, die auf dürres Land fallen und niemals keimen.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Girijā/Pārvatī
Scene: Śiva as Antakāntaka in Kāśī, his fiery glance burning karmic seeds scattered on barren ground; the city’s ghāṭs and liṅgas glow in ash-white serenity.
FAQs
In Kāśī, Śiva’s liberating grace burns the very seeds of karma, so the usual distinctions of after-death destinies based on sin and merit lose their force.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), the supreme Śaiva kṣetra where Hara is praised as the conqueror of Death (Antaka).
No specific rite is prescribed in this verse; it emphasizes the kṣetra-māhātmya of Kāśī—liberation through residence, death, or divine grace in the sacred city.