Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72
ततो गच्छेन्महालक्ष्मीं स्थिरलक्ष्मीसमृद्धये । इमां यात्रां नरः कृत्वा क्षेत्रेस्मिन्मुक्तिजन्मनि
tato gacchenmahālakṣmīṃ sthiralakṣmīsamṛddhaye | imāṃ yātrāṃ naraḥ kṛtvā kṣetresminmuktijanmani
Thereafter one should go to the shrine of Mahālakṣmī, for the increase of steady and enduring prosperity. Having performed this pilgrimage in this sacred field that gives birth to liberation, a man attains auspicious fulfillment.
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Mahālakṣmī (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A pilgrim, having completed earlier Kāśī stations, approaches a Mahālakṣmī shrine with lamps and lotus offerings; the city’s narrow lanes open into a small temple court; Lakṣmī is envisioned as bestowing ‘sthiralakṣmī’ while Kāśī’s mokṣa-aura pervades.
FAQs
In Kāśī, pilgrimage is both worldly-auspicious (stable prosperity) and ultimately liberation-oriented.
Mahālakṣmī’s shrine/tīrtha within the Kāśī Kṣetra.
To proceed to Mahālakṣmī as part of the prescribed yātrā for attaining steady fortune.