Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51
अधोक्षजात्परोधर्मो नार्थो नारायणात्परः । न कामः केशवादन्यो नापवर्गो हरिं विना
adhokṣajātparodharmo nārtho nārāyaṇātparaḥ | na kāmaḥ keśavādanyo nāpavargo hariṃ vinā
અધોક્ષજની ભક્તિથી ઊંચો ધર્મ નથી; નારાયણથી પરો અર્થ નથી. કેશવથી શ્રેષ્ઠ કામના નથી, અને હરિ વિના અપવર્ગ (મોક્ષ) નથી।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (general)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A teacher-sage on a Kāśī ghāṭ instructs disciples, pointing to a four-petaled emblem of puruṣārthas converging into a central Viṣṇu form labeled Adhokṣaja/Nārāyaṇa/Keśava/Hari; the Gaṅgā flows behind as a symbol of liberation.
FAQs
All human aims (dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa) find their highest fulfillment only in relation to Hari.
The Kāśī-khaṇḍa context frames the doctrine within Kāśī’s mahātmya, but the verse itself is universal rather than site-specific.
No specific ritual; it establishes a hierarchy of values centered on devotion to Hari.