Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 78
धिग्धिक्पदं तु देवानां परं दृष्ट्वाऽत्र शंकरम् । लभ्यते यन्न निर्वाणं सर्वदुःखांतकृत्तु यत्
dhigdhikpadaṃ tu devānāṃ paraṃ dṛṣṭvā'tra śaṃkaram | labhyate yanna nirvāṇaṃ sarvaduḥkhāṃtakṛttu yat
ധിക് ധിക്—ദേവന്മാരുടെ പരമ പദത്തേക്കും ലജ്ജ, ഇവിടെ ശങ്കരനെ ദർശിച്ചിട്ടും സകല ദുഃഖാന്തം വരുത്തുന്ന നിർവാണം ലഭിക്കാതിരുന്നാൽ!
Devas (lamenting the insufficiency of mere divine status without liberation)
Tirtha: Kāśī / Avimukta (Śaṅkara-darśana)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame listener(s)
Scene: A speaker laments: ‘Shame on even the highest divine rank’ if, after seeing Śaṅkara here, nirvāṇa that ends all sorrow is not attained; the scene contrasts glittering deva-splendor with the austere radiance of Śiva.
FAQs
Heavenly status is secondary; the true goal is nirvāṇa/mokṣa, the cessation of all suffering, gained through the Lord’s grace.
The verse sits within Kāśīkhaṇḍa and implies the liberating environment of Kāśī where Śaṅkara is beheld.
No explicit ritual is stated; the passage prioritizes liberation through darśana and right aspiration.