Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36
विश्वेशानुग्रहात्काश्यामभिलाषा न दुर्लभाः । सुलभो दुर्लभो वै यद्यत्र मोक्षस्तनुत्यजाम्
viśveśānugrahātkāśyāmabhilāṣā na durlabhāḥ | sulabho durlabho vai yadyatra mokṣastanutyajām
By the grace of Viśveśvara, in Kāśī no worthy aspiration is hard to attain; for here, even liberation at the time of casting off the body becomes easy—though it is otherwise rare elsewhere.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative convention)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta), Viśveśvara-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A pilgrim at the ghāṭs of Kāśī beholds Viśveśvara’s sanctum; the city glows as a mokṣa-kṣetra, with subtle imagery of the soul’s release at the moment of death under Śiva’s grace.
FAQs
Kāśī is praised as a uniquely grace-filled field where even the rare fruit of mokṣa becomes attainable through Viśveśvara’s favor.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), especially as the domain of Viśveśvara.
No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes the spiritual efficacy of being in Kāśī under Viśveśvara’s grace.