Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 68
इदं तु परमाख्यानं शृणुयाद्यः समाहितः । स्वर्लोकमभिगम्याथ काश्यां निर्वाणमाप्नुयात्
idaṃ tu paramākhyānaṃ śṛṇuyādyaḥ samāhitaḥ | svarlokamabhigamyātha kāśyāṃ nirvāṇamāpnuyāt
しかし、心を統一してこの最上の聖なる物語を聴く者は、のちにスヴァルガ（Svarga）に至り、さらにカーシー（Kāśī）にて涅槃の解脱を得る。
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: vipra (brāhmaṇa)
Scene: A devotee listening with focused mind to a sacred narration; above, a symbolic ascent to Svarga, and finally a luminous Kāśī with a mokṣa-flame/effulgence motif indicating nirvāṇa.
FAQs
Śravaṇa (devout listening) to sacred Māhātmya generates merit leading ultimately to liberation associated with Kāśī.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is explicitly glorified as the place where nirvāṇa is attained.
Listening (śravaṇa) to the ‘supreme narrative’ with focused attention is prescribed as a merit-generating practice.