Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 41
विततेऽत्र जगत्यखिलेऽघहरं हर तोषणमेव परं गुणवन् । गुणहीनमहीन महावलयं प्रलयांतकमीश नतोस्मि ततः
vitate'tra jagatyakhile'ghaharaṃ hara toṣaṇameva paraṃ guṇavan | guṇahīnamahīna mahāvalayaṃ pralayāṃtakamīśa natosmi tataḥ
In this vast world, O Hara, the supreme good for the virtuous is to please You—the Remover of all sin. O Lord, You are not diminished by the absence of qualities; You are the great encompassing circle, the Terminus of dissolution. Therefore I bow to You.
Aṅgiras
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience within Kāśī-māhātmya frame
Scene: Śiva as a vast circular enclosure (mahā-valaya) containing galaxies, serene and beyond attributes; beneath, the devotee bows. In the distance, pralaya imagery—oceans rising—yet Śiva remains calm, signifying the end of dissolution.
FAQs
The highest dharma is to please Śiva; He removes sin and transcends limiting qualities, guiding beings beyond dissolution.
Kāśī is the implied sacred landscape where pleasing Viśveśvara is taught as the supreme path.
No specific rite; the teaching is devotional—toṣaṇa (propitiating/pleasing) Śiva through worship and praise.