Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 94
अविमुक्तं न सेवंते ये मूढास्तमसावृताः । विण्मूत्ररेतसां मध्ये ते वसंति पुनः पुनः
avimuktaṃ na sevaṃte ye mūḍhāstamasāvṛtāḥ | viṇmūtraretasāṃ madhye te vasaṃti punaḥ punaḥ
Ces insensés, enveloppés de ténèbres, qui ne se tournent pas vers Avimukta—sans cesse ils demeurent au milieu de l’impureté : excréments, urine et semence, c’est-à-dire des naissances incarnées répétées.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta (within Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A stark didactic tableau: a shadowed, deluded figure turns away from the luminous precinct of Avimukta; behind him the cycle of birth is shown as repeated immersion in bodily impurity, while the sacred city glows as refuge.
FAQs
Neglecting liberating sacred refuge and remaining in ignorance leads to continued rebirth and bodily suffering.
Avimukta-Kāśī, contrasted with the cycle of saṃsāra.
An implicit injunction to ‘serve’ Avimukta—seek the kṣetra with devotion rather than remain in ignorance.