Shloka 5
व्यासशौनकादिसंवादः | Vyāsa–Śaunaka and the Sages: Opening Dialogue of the Kailāsa-saṃhitā
निर्गत्य तस्मात्सम्प्राप्य गिरेः काशीं समाहिताः । स्नातव्यमेवेति तदा ददृशुर्मणिकर्णिकाम्
nirgatya tasmātsamprāpya gireḥ kāśīṃ samāhitāḥ | snātavyameveti tadā dadṛśurmaṇikarṇikām
Departing from that place, they reached Kāśī upon the mountain, their minds composed. With the firm resolve that they must bathe, they then beheld Maṇikarṇikā, the sacred bathing place.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Arriving in Kāśī, the sages’ first impulse is snāna at Maṇikarṇikā—Kāśī’s most famed tīrtha—preparatory to approaching Viśveśvara. In Kāśī-mahātmya traditions, Maṇikarṇikā is linked to Śiva’s saving grace and the city’s mokṣa-bestowing status.
Significance: Snāna at Maṇikarṇikā is treated as a powerful purifier and a gateway act for Kāśī-darśana; it symbolizes surrender of impurities (pāśa) before Śiva’s kṣetra.
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It highlights the Shaiva discipline of approaching a sacred kṣetra like Kāśī with a collected mind and performing tīrtha-snana as an outward act supporting inner purification and readiness for Shiva’s grace.
Kāśī is revered as Shiva’s own abode where Saguna Shiva is approached through kṣetra-sevā—pilgrimage, bathing at holy tīrthas like Maṇikarṇikā, and then proceeding to worship (often culminating in linga-darśana and pūjā).
A sankalpa-filled tīrtha-snana (vowed sacred bath) done with samāhita-citta (steady mind), followed by Shaiva practices such as japa of “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” and respectful worship at the holy site.