Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85
ततस्त्रिलोकी विख्यातं त्रिलोक्युद्धरणक्षमम् । तीर्थं श्रेष्ठतरं वीर यदाख्या मणिकर्णिका
tatastrilokī vikhyātaṃ trilokyuddharaṇakṣamam | tīrthaṃ śreṣṭhataraṃ vīra yadākhyā maṇikarṇikā
तदनन्तर वह परम श्रेष्ठ तीर्थ आता है, जो त्रिलोकी में विख्यात और त्रिलोकी का उद्धार करने में समर्थ है—हे वीर—जिसका नाम मणिकर्णिका है।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā
Type: ghat
Listener: Addressed as ‘vīra’ (hero)
Scene: A panoramic view of Maṇikarṇikā: stepped ghāṭa, sacred waters, and the sense of cosmic fame—three worlds subtly indicated (devas above, humans on ghāṭa, nāgas/ancestors below).
FAQs
Certain sacred places are portrayed as universally salvific; Maṇikarṇikā is praised as a pinnacle of Kāśī’s liberating power.
Maṇikarṇikā-tīrtha (Maṇikarṇikā) in Kāśī.
No specific rite is stated in this verse; it chiefly declares the unrivaled status and saving capacity of Maṇikarṇikā.