Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52
पशुपक्षिमृगा मर्त्या म्लेच्छा वाप्यथ दीक्षिताः । तेषां तु रुद्रीभूतानां पुनरावृत्तिरत्र न
paśupakṣimṛgā martyā mlecchā vāpyatha dīkṣitāḥ | teṣāṃ tu rudrībhūtānāṃ punarāvṛttiratra na
Be they cattle, birds, wild beasts, human beings, foreigners, or even the initiated—once here they become “Rudra-formed,” united with Rudra, there is no return for them to rebirth.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Rudrasthalī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Not stated in the provided excerpt
Scene: Within Rudrasthalī’s luminous boundary, diverse beings—cattle, birds, deer, humans of many origins—are shown dissolving into a serene Rudra-light, symbolizing ‘rudrībhūta’ and the end of return.
FAQs
Liberation in Kāśī is portrayed as place-based grace: union with Rudra here ends the cycle of return.
Rudrasthalī in Kāśī.
No specific rite is prescribed; the verse notes dīkṣā (initiation) only to stress that liberation here is not restricted by status.