Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85
महासमाधिसंपन्नैर्वेदांतार्थ निषेविभिः । दुष्प्रापोन्यत्र यो मोक्षः शोच्यैरपि स लभ्यते
mahāsamādhisaṃpannairvedāṃtārtha niṣevibhiḥ | duṣprāponyatra yo mokṣaḥ śocyairapi sa labhyate
जो मोक्ष अन्यत्र महासमाधिसंपन्न व वेदान्तार्थ-निषेवकांनाही दुर्मिळ, तोच येथे शोचनीय व पतितांनाही मिळतो.
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā (Kāśī)
Type: ghat
Listener: Purāṇic audience within the Kāśī-māhātmya narration
Scene: A split tableau: on one side austere yogins in caves practicing samādhi and studying Vedānta; on the other, Maṇikarṇikā ghāṭa where a weary, fallen person receives a beam of Śiva’s grace leading upward into serene light.
FAQs
Kāśī is praised as a uniquely merciful field where mokṣa is accessible beyond ordinary spiritual qualifications.
Kāśī is implied as the exceptional place where mokṣa becomes readily attainable.
No explicit ritual; the verse contrasts ordinary yogic/Vedāntic attainment with Kāśī’s special liberating power.