Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 65
अविमुक्तरहस्यज्ञा मुच्यंते ज्ञानि नो नराः । अज्ञानिनोपि तिर्यञ्चो मुच्यंते गतकिल्बिषाः
avimuktarahasyajñā mucyaṃte jñāni no narāḥ | ajñāninopi tiryañco mucyaṃte gatakilbiṣāḥ
अविमुक्त (काशी) याचे रहस्य जाणणारे ज्ञानी पुरुष मुक्त होतात. अज्ञानीसुद्धा—अगदी पशु-पक्षीही—पापक्षय होऊन उद्धरतात.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Muni (addressed as ‘naraḥ/muni’ in surrounding frame; here the teaching is general)
Scene: A didactic proclamation within Kāśī’s sacred aura: sages and pilgrims near Viśveśvara, with animals (birds, cattle, dogs) also bathed in the same sanctity, suggesting universal liberation under Śiva’s gaze.
FAQs
Kāśī (Avimukta) is intrinsically liberating; knowledge of its sacred mystery and even mere association can dissolve sin and grant release.
Avimukta—another name for Kāśī/Varanasi, celebrated as a supreme mokṣa-kṣetra.
No specific rite is stated; the verse emphasizes the salvific power of Avimukta and the merit of knowing its rahasya (sacred doctrine).