Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 13
विनापि तपसा स्कंद विनायोगेन षण्मुख । विना व्रतैर्विना दानैः काश्यां मोक्षस्त्वयेरितः
vināpi tapasā skaṃda vināyogena ṣaṇmukha | vinā vratairvinā dānaiḥ kāśyāṃ mokṣastvayeritaḥ
Ô Skanda, ô Ṣaṇmukha — sans austérités, sans yoga, sans vœux et sans dons (dāna), tu as proclamé qu’à Kāśī l’on obtient la délivrance, le mokṣa.
Agastya (deduced; addressing Skanda in Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Skanda (Ṣaṇmukha)
Scene: A pilgrim in Kāśī, humbled, hears the proclamation that mokṣa is attainable here even without tapas, yoga, vows, or gifts—Kāśī’s ghāṭas and Viśvanātha’s aura implied as the backdrop.
FAQs
It highlights the exceptional salvific power attributed to Kāśī—its sanctity is said to grant mokṣa even without the usual disciplines.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), the celebrated mokṣa-kṣetra of the Skanda Purāṇa’s Kāśī Māhātmya.
No specific prescription is given; rather, the verse contrasts mokṣa in Kāśī with the typical means—tapas, yoga, vrata, and dāna.