Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55
सायुज्यमुक्तिरत्रैव सान्निध्यादिरथान्यतः । सुलभा सापि नो नूनं काश्यां मोक्षोस्ति हेलया
sāyujyamuktiratraiva sānnidhyādirathānyataḥ | sulabhā sāpi no nūnaṃ kāśyāṃ mokṣosti helayā
यहीं सायुज्य-मुक्ति (भगवान् से एकत्व) है; अन्यत्र सान्निध्य आदि फल मिलते हैं। वह सायुज्य भी वास्तव में सहज नहीं; पर काशी में तो मोक्ष मानो सहज ही प्राप्त हो जाता है।
Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Agastya (contextual)
Scene: A luminous panorama of Kāśī on the Gaṅgā: pilgrims at ghāṭas, bells and lamps, and above them a radiant Śiva-bestowing-sāyujya motif—souls merging into a Śiva-tejas halo near Viśveśvara’s sanctum.
FAQs
Kāśī uniquely makes liberation accessible; it is praised as a place where mokṣa comes with exceptional ease.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), as the exceptional mokṣa-kṣetra.
No explicit ritual; the verse contrasts grades of liberation and highlights Kāśī’s special efficacy.