Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 62
यो मंत्रं जपति प्रातः काशी वर्णद्वयात्मकम् । स तु लोकद्वयं जित्वा लोकातीतं व्रजेत्पदम्
yo maṃtraṃ japati prātaḥ kāśī varṇadvayātmakam | sa tu lokadvayaṃ jitvā lokātītaṃ vrajetpadam
Siapa yang pada fajar melafalkan japa mantra “Kāśī” yang tersusun dari dua aksara, ia menaklukkan kedua alam dan mencapai kedudukan yang melampaui segala alam.
Śiva (in the Kāśī-stavana context)
Tirtha: Kāśī (two-letter mantra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: At sunrise on the Gaṅgā, a devotee chants ‘Kāśī’; two luminous spheres labeled ‘this world’ and ‘next world’ are shown subdued beneath the mantra’s radiance, while a third, formless light opens upward—‘beyond worlds’.
FAQs
Simple mantra-japa connected to Kāśī is exalted as leading beyond worldly and otherworldly attainments to transcendence.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), whose name functions as a mantra.
Prātaḥ-japa: chanting the two-syllabled “Kāśī” mantra at dawn.