Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 18
अहो मोहस्य माहात्म्यमहो भाग्यविपर्ययः । निर्वाणराशिं यत्काशीं प्राप्य यांत्यन्यतोऽबुधाः
aho mohasya māhātmyamaho bhāgyaviparyayaḥ | nirvāṇarāśiṃ yatkāśīṃ prāpya yāṃtyanyato'budhāḥ
Ah ! quelle puissance a l’égarement, et quel renversement du destin ! Car, ayant atteint Kāśī, trésor même de la délivrance, les insensés s’en vont pourtant ailleurs.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration, commonly Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis
Scene: A narrator-like voice laments as pilgrims, having reached radiant Kāśī, turn their backs and walk away into dusty roads—liberation glowing behind them like a treasure left unopened.
FAQs
Liberation may be near at hand, yet delusion drives people away; wisdom is to recognize and remain aligned with the highest good.
Kāśī, explicitly praised as a concentrated source of nirvāṇa (mokṣa).
None explicit; the stress is on right discernment and valuing Kāśī’s mokṣa-giving presence.