Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 50
दुर्लभं जन्म मानुष्यं दुर्लभा काशिकापुरी । उभयोः संगमासाद्य मुक्ता एव न संशयः
durlabhaṃ janma mānuṣyaṃ durlabhā kāśikāpurī | ubhayoḥ saṃgamāsādya muktā eva na saṃśayaḥ
मानवी जन्म दुर्लभ आणि काशिकापुरीही दुर्लभ आहे। दोन्हींचा संगम लाभला की मुक्ती निश्चित—यात संशय नाही।
Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A pilgrim, aware of the rarity of human birth, arrives at luminous Kāśī; the city is shown as a radiant kṣetra with Viśveśvara’s presence and Gaṅgā’s sanctifying flow, symbolizing the ‘meeting of both’ that assures liberation.
FAQs
Human birth is precious, and reaching Kāśī is equally rare; their union becomes a direct cause for liberation.
Kāśikāpurī—Kāśī (Vārāṇasī).
No specific ritual is prescribed here; the emphasis is on the salvific greatness of attaining Kāśī in human life.