Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 82
नान्यत्र चरणौ तस्याश्चरतः सुखवांछया । त्यक्त्वोंकाराजिरक्षोणीं क्षुण्णां निर्वाणपद्मया
nānyatra caraṇau tasyāścarataḥ sukhavāṃchayā | tyaktvoṃkārājirakṣoṇīṃ kṣuṇṇāṃ nirvāṇapadmayā
En quête de béatitude, elle ne posait ses pieds nulle part ailleurs ; et le sol même marqué par la ligne sacrée de l’Oṃkāra, elle l’abandonna et le foula aux pieds—tel un lotus de délivrance.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśī Khaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī (with Oṃkāra-rekhā as internal sacred marker)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A pilgrim-woman figure, intent on bliss, hesitates at a ground-inscription shaped like the Oṃkāra line; her foot hovers/steps, while a luminous lotus (nirvāṇa-padma) blooms beneath, suggesting liberation and the paradox of trampling/overstepping sacredness.
FAQs
True bliss is oriented toward the liberating principle (nirvāṇa), symbolized here by unwavering devotion to Oṃkāra.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is the overarching sacred geography of this Kāśī Khaṇḍa passage, with emphasis on Oṃkāra’s sanctity within it.
No explicit rite is prescribed in this verse; it implies exclusive adherence to Oṃkāra’s path/mark as a devotional discipline.