Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54
हस्ताः शतं पंच सुरापगायामुदीच्यवाच्योर्मणिकर्णिकेयम् । सारस्त्रिलोक्याः परकोशभूमिर्यैः सेविता ते मम हृच्छया हि
hastāḥ śataṃ paṃca surāpagāyāmudīcyavācyormaṇikarṇikeyam | sārastrilokyāḥ parakośabhūmiryaiḥ sevitā te mama hṛcchayā hi
सुरापगा नदीच्या तीरावर, उत्तर व ईशान दिशांच्या मध्ये स्थित ही मणिकर्णिका शंभर पाच हस्त विस्ताराची आहे। ती त्रिलोकीचा सार आणि परम कोश-भूमी आहे; जिने तिची सेवा केली ते माझ्या हृदयात खरोखरच अत्यंत प्रिय आहेत।
Śiva (contextual, within Kāśīkhaṇḍa glorification)
Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā
Type: ghat
Listener: Devotees / interlocutor in Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative (traditionally a Purāṇic dialogue frame)
Scene: A panoramic view of Maṇikarṇikā on the Gaṅgā: stepped ghāṭa, sacred fires, pilgrims offering water and flowers, with a subtle divine radiance indicating ‘trilokasāra’ and Śiva’s inward cherishing of devotees.
FAQs
Service to Maṇikarṇikā in Kāśī is portrayed as supremely meritorious and dear to Śiva, because the tīrtha embodies the essence of the three worlds.
Maṇikarṇikā (the famed tīrtha/ghāṭa of Kāśī) on the banks of the divine river Gaṅgā.
The verse emphasizes “sevanā” (reverential service/worship) of Maṇikarṇikā; it implies pilgrimage observances such as tīrtha-sevā, snāna, and devotion.