Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 3
न कापिलेन योगेन न सांख्येन न च व्रतैः । या गतिः प्राप्यते पुंभिस्तां दद्यान्मोक्षभूरियम्
na kāpilena yogena na sāṃkhyena na ca vrataiḥ | yā gatiḥ prāpyate puṃbhistāṃ dadyānmokṣabhūriyam
Not by Kapila’s yoga, not by Sāṅkhya, nor even by vows—this very ground of mokṣa bestows upon people that supreme destination otherwise attained only with great difficulty.
Skanda (deduced; Adhyāya context)
Tirtha: Mokṣa-bhūmi Kāśī (with Maṇikarṇikā as emblem)
Type: kshetra
Scene: An allegorical scene: on one side ascetics practicing Kapila’s sāṅkhya and yogins in austerity; on the other, the luminous ‘mokṣa-bhūmi’ of Kāśī radiating grace, drawing seekers effortlessly toward liberation.
FAQs
The tīrtha’s grace is exalted: Kāśī’s mokṣa-kṣetra power can grant the highest end beyond ordinary disciplines.
The mokṣa-bhū (liberation-ground) of Kāśī, contextually centered on Maṇikarṇikā.
The verse contrasts common paths (yoga, sāṃkhya, vratas) rather than prescribing a new rite; it highlights the place’s salvific potency.