Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 50
न सत्यलोके न तपस्यहो सुरा वैकुंठकैलासरसातलेषु । तीर्थं क्वचिद्वै मणिकर्णिकासमं लिंगं च विश्वेश्वरतुल्यमन्यतः
na satyaloke na tapasyaho surā vaikuṃṭhakailāsarasātaleṣu | tīrthaṃ kvacidvai maṇikarṇikāsamaṃ liṃgaṃ ca viśveśvaratulyamanyataḥ
ಹೇ ದೇವರೆ! ಸತ್ಯಲೋಕದಲ್ಲಾಗಲಿ, ತಪೋಲೋಕದಲ್ಲಾಗಲಿ, ವೈಕುಂಠ, ಕೈಲಾಸ ಅಥವಾ ರಸಾತಲದಲ್ಲಾಗಲಿ ಮಣಿಕರ್ಣಿಕೆಗೆ ಸಮಾನ ತೀರ್ಥ ಎಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಇಲ್ಲ; ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ವಿಶ್ವೇಶ್ವರನ ಸಮಾನ ಲಿಂಗವೂ ಬೇರೆಡೆ ಇಲ್ಲ.
Skanda (deduced; address to suras and sthala comparison)
Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā
Type: ghat
Listener: sura (gods)
Scene: A comparative cosmic tableau: Satyaloka and Tapoloka above, Vaikuṇṭha with Viṣṇu’s iconography, Kailāsa with Śiva’s snowy peak, Rasātala below—yet the viewer’s eye is drawn to the luminous Maṇikarṇikā ghāṭa and the Viśveśvara-liṅga at the center, declared unsurpassed.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as a supreme spiritual geography: Maṇikarṇikā as the unmatched tīrtha and Viśveśvara as the unmatched Liṅga.
Maṇikarṇikā tīrtha in Kāśī, along with Viśveśvara (Kashi Vishwanath).
No explicit ritual is stated; the verse motivates pilgrimage (tīrtha-sevā) and worship (liṅga-bhajana) by declaring their unsurpassed status.