Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 58
मौंजीमोक्षणवार्तापि कृता नास्य जनुःकृता । गार्हस्थ्यं प्राप्यते यस्मात्कर्मणोऽनंतरं वरम्
mauṃjīmokṣaṇavārtāpi kṛtā nāsya januḥkṛtā | gārhasthyaṃ prāpyate yasmātkarmaṇo'naṃtaraṃ varam
മൗഞ്ജീ-മോക്ഷണം നടന്നുവെന്ന വാർത്ത മാത്രം ഉണ്ടായാലും—അവൻ ആശ്രമധർമ്മങ്ങൾ യഥാവിധി അനുഷ്ഠിച്ചില്ലെങ്കിലും—ആ കർമ്മത്തിനുടൻപിന്നാലെ അവന് അടുത്ത ‘ശ്രേഷ്ഠ’ സ്ഥാനം, അഥവാ ഗാർഹസ്ഥ്യാശ്രമം, ലഭിച്ചു।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (typical frame)
Scene: A young man’s mauñjī (sacred girdle) being ceremonially released/removed, elders witnessing; the atmosphere is formal yet slightly uneasy, foreshadowing later decline.
FAQs
It frames a life-stage transition (āśrama) as a karmic milestone, while hinting that mere external rites without true discipline are spiritually hollow.
The broader setting is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, though this verse itself focuses on a biographical detail rather than naming a specific tīrtha.
Mauñjī-mokṣaṇa—removal/releasing of the sacred munja-girdle—marking a transition in life-stage.