Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110
एतेषामपि तीर्थानां चतुर्णामपि सत्तम । पंचमं मणिकर्ण्याख्यं मनावेयवशुद्धिदम्
eteṣāmapi tīrthānāṃ caturṇāmapi sattama | paṃcamaṃ maṇikarṇyākhyaṃ manāveyavaśuddhidam
हे सत्पुरुषश्रेष्ठ! इन चार तीर्थों के बीच भी एक पाँचवाँ तीर्थ है, जिसे मणिकर्णी (मणिकर्णिका) कहते हैं; वह मन और देह के सूक्ष्मतम अंश तक शुद्धि प्रदान कर पूर्ण निर्मलता देता है।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Maṇikarṇī / Maṇikarṇikā
Type: ghat
Listener: Agastya
Scene: Five tīrtha emblems arranged like petals; the fifth (Maṇikarṇikā) shines brightest; a pilgrim’s mind depicted as a dark cloud clearing into a clear sky as he steps into the water; subtle aura around the head and heart indicating manas-śuddhi.
FAQs
Sacred geography is graded: Maṇikarṇikā is proclaimed a culminating tīrtha whose contact purifies the whole person—inner mind and outer conduct.
Maṇikarṇikā (also styled Maṇikarṇī), elevated as a ‘fifth’ preeminent tīrtha.
No explicit rite is stated; the implied practice is tīrtha-sevā—approach, bathing, and reverent engagement that yields śuddhi (purification).