Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73
विपत्तिं विपुलां चापि संपत्तिमतिभंगुराम् । अक्षया मुक्तिरेकास्तु विपाकस्तस्य कर्मणः
vipattiṃ vipulāṃ cāpi saṃpattimatibhaṃgurām | akṣayā muktirekāstu vipākastasya karmaṇaḥ
Quand bien même surviendrait un vaste malheur, ou quand bien même paraîtrait la prospérité—si fragile—, l’unique fruit durable d’une telle action sacrée est la délivrance impérissable (mokṣa).
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage audience within Kāśī-māhātmya frame
Scene: A pilgrim stands on a Kāśī ghāṭ witnessing alternating scenes of loss and gain around him, yet his gaze rests on a Śiva shrine, symbolizing that only mukti is enduring.
FAQs
Worldly gain and loss are unstable; the highest and lasting outcome of dharma in Kāśī is akṣaya-mukti.
Kāśī, praised as a kṣetra where the ripened fruit of merit culminates in liberation.
No single rite is specified here; the verse emphasizes the ultimate fruit (mokṣa) of meritorious action performed in the sacred field.