Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 97
यावंत एव निवसंति च जंतवोऽत्र काश्यां जलस्थलचरा झषजंबुकाद्याः । तावंत एव मदनुग्रह रुद्रदेहा देहावसानमधिगम्य मयि प्रविष्टाः
yāvaṃta eva nivasaṃti ca jaṃtavo'tra kāśyāṃ jalasthalacarā jhaṣajaṃbukādyāḥ | tāvaṃta eva madanugraha rudradehā dehāvasānamadhigamya mayi praviṣṭāḥ
Autant d’êtres qu’il en demeure ici, à Kāśī—qu’ils se meuvent dans l’eau ou sur la terre, tels les poissons, les chacals et autres—autant, au terme de leur corps, entrent en Moi; car par Ma grâce ils deviennent de corps de Rudra.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Girijā/Pārvatī
Scene: A panoramic Kāśī: fish in the Gaṅgā, jackals on the ghāṭ edges, birds and humans—each surrounded by a subtle Rudra-aura; at the moment of death, their forms dissolve into Śiva’s luminous presence.
FAQs
Kāśī is proclaimed a mokṣa-kṣetra where even non-human beings, by divine grace, attain union with Śiva at death.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) itself is glorified as the supreme sacred field of liberation, rather than a single minor tīrtha.
No specific rite (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse; it emphasizes the inherent salvific power of residing/dying in Kāśī through Rudra’s grace.