Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 15
वरं काशीपुरीवासी म्लेच्छोपि हि शुभायतिः । नान्यत्रत्यो दीक्षितोपि स हि मुक्तेरभाजनम्
varaṃ kāśīpurīvāsī mlecchopi hi śubhāyatiḥ | nānyatratyo dīkṣitopi sa hi mukterabhājanam
കാശീപുരിയിൽ വസിക്കുന്ന മ്ലേച്ഛനും ശ്രേഷ്ഠനാണ്; കാരണം അവൻ ശുഭത്വം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു. എന്നാൽ മറ്റിടത്ത് ദീക്ഷിതനായാലും (തുലനയിൽ) അവൻ മുക്തിക്ക് യഥാർത്ഥ പാത്രനല്ല।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśīpurī / Avimukta
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage audience seeking criteria of mokṣa
Scene: A diverse group of Kāśī residents—pilgrims, ascetics, workers, and a foreigner/outsider figure—stand before Viśveśvara; a subtle aura of auspiciousness surrounds the resident, while a distant initiated ritualist elsewhere is shown without that luminous mokṣa-sign, emphasizing the verse’s inversion.
FAQs
Kāśī’s sanctity is portrayed as transformative beyond social identity, emphasizing place-based grace (sthāna-prabhāva) as a path toward auspiciousness and liberation.
Kāśīpurī (Vārāṇasī), upheld as a foremost mokṣa-kṣetra.
Dīkṣā is referenced but not prescribed; the verse stresses that mere initiation elsewhere is inferior to the liberating potency associated with Kāśī-residence.