Shloka 1
The Description of Kāśī (Kāśī-māhātmya): Avimukta, Kapālamocana, and Śiva’s Purification
काष्ठीलोवाच । एवं सा राक्षसी सुभ्रु हस्तिनीरूपधारिणी । त्रिभिर्मुहूर्तैः संप्राप्ता काशीं विश्वेशमंदिरम् ॥ १ ॥
kāṣṭhīlovāca | evaṃ sā rākṣasī subhru hastinīrūpadhāriṇī | tribhirmuhūrtaiḥ saṃprāptā kāśīṃ viśveśamaṃdiram || 1 ||
Kāṣṭhīla berkata: Demikian rākṣasī yang beralis indah itu, setelah mengambil wujud gajah betina, dalam tiga muhūrta mencapai Kāśī, yakni mandir Viśveśa.
Kāṣṭhīla
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It frames Kāśī and the Viśveśa temple as the narrative’s sacred focal point, emphasizing the magnetic sanctity of the tīrtha where major karmic and spiritual turning points occur.
By directing the story toward Viśveśa in Kāśī, it highlights temple-centric devotion—approaching the deity’s abode as a concrete act of bhakti that shapes the unfolding of the episode.
The verse uses the time-measure “muhūrta,” a calendrical/ritual timing concept aligned with Jyotiṣa (Vedāṅga), indicating precise traditional reckoning of time in sacred narratives.