Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43
वरं हि तत्काशिरजोति पावनं रजस्तमोध्वंसि शशिप्रभोज्ज्वलम् । कृतप्रणामैर्मणिकर्णिका भुवे ललाटगंयद्बहुमन्यते सुरैः
varaṃ hi tatkāśirajoti pāvanaṃ rajastamodhvaṃsi śaśiprabhojjvalam | kṛtapraṇāmairmaṇikarṇikā bhuve lalāṭagaṃyadbahumanyate suraiḥ
Béni, en vérité, est ce poussière de Kāśī : souverainement purifiante, détruisant rajas et tamas, éclatante comme la clarté lunaire. À Maṇikarṇikā sur la terre, cette poussière qui, par les prosternations, monte jusqu’au front est hautement révérée même par les dieux.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā
Type: ghat
Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly
Scene: At Maṇikarṇikā ghāṭa, a devotee performs full prostration; luminous dust rises and touches the forehead, depicted as moon-bright, while devas in the sky look on with reverence; the Ganga flows beside the steps.
FAQs
Even seemingly small contact—Kāśī’s dust—becomes a powerful purifier, symbolizing humility and grace in a sacred kṣetra.
Maṇikarṇikā in Kāśī, famed as an exceptionally sanctifying spot.
Praṇāma (prostration) at Maṇikarṇikā is implied, where the Kāśī-dust touches one’s forehead.