Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40
कृत्तिवासेश्वरे लिंगे लभ्यस्त्वेकेन जन्मना । पृर्वजन्मकृतं पापं तपोदानादिभिः शनैः । नश्येत्सद्यो विनश्येत कृत्तिवासे श्वरेक्षणात्
kṛttivāseśvare liṃge labhyastvekena janmanā | pṛrvajanmakṛtaṃ pāpaṃ tapodānādibhiḥ śanaiḥ | naśyetsadyo vinaśyeta kṛttivāse śvarekṣaṇāt
कृत्तिवासेश्वर के लिंग पर (मोक्ष) एक ही जन्म में सुलभ है। पूर्वजन्मों में किया पाप तप, दान आदि से धीरे-धीरे नष्ट होता है; पर कृत्तिवासेश्वर के केवल दर्शन से वह तत्क्षण नष्ट हो जाता है।
Skanda (deduced)
Tirtha: Kṛttivāseśvara
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pārvatī or a sage interlocutor (contextual)
Scene: A split-time depiction: on one side, ascetics performing long tapas and donors giving gifts; on the other, a devotee simply beholds the Kṛttivāseśvara liṅga and a dark cloud of ‘pāpa’ dissolves instantly into light.
FAQs
Kāśī’s Kṛttivāseśvara is exalted as granting swift purification and even one-lifetime attainment compared to slower disciplines.
Kṛttivāseśvara Liṅga in Kāśī.
Darśana (beholding) is highlighted; tapas and dāna are acknowledged as gradual means.