Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 62
यो मंत्रं जपति प्रातः काशी वर्णद्वयात्मकम् । स तु लोकद्वयं जित्वा लोकातीतं व्रजेत्पदम्
yo maṃtraṃ japati prātaḥ kāśī varṇadvayātmakam | sa tu lokadvayaṃ jitvā lokātītaṃ vrajetpadam
Quiconque, à l’aube, récite le mantra « Kāśī », composé de deux lettres, triomphe des deux mondes et atteint l’état au-delà des mondes.
Śiva (in the Kāśī-stavana context)
Tirtha: Kāśī (two-letter mantra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: At sunrise on the Gaṅgā, a devotee chants ‘Kāśī’; two luminous spheres labeled ‘this world’ and ‘next world’ are shown subdued beneath the mantra’s radiance, while a third, formless light opens upward—‘beyond worlds’.
FAQs
Simple mantra-japa connected to Kāśī is exalted as leading beyond worldly and otherworldly attainments to transcendence.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), whose name functions as a mantra.
Prātaḥ-japa: chanting the two-syllabled “Kāśī” mantra at dawn.