Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 97
यावंत एव निवसंति च जंतवोऽत्र काश्यां जलस्थलचरा झषजंबुकाद्याः । तावंत एव मदनुग्रह रुद्रदेहा देहावसानमधिगम्य मयि प्रविष्टाः
yāvaṃta eva nivasaṃti ca jaṃtavo'tra kāśyāṃ jalasthalacarā jhaṣajaṃbukādyāḥ | tāvaṃta eva madanugraha rudradehā dehāvasānamadhigamya mayi praviṣṭāḥ
Sebanyak mana makhluk yang tinggal di sini, di Kāśī—sama ada yang bergerak di air atau di darat, seperti ikan, jakal dan seumpamanya—sebanyak itu juga, apabila jasad berakhir, mereka masuk ke dalam-Ku; kerana dengan rahmat-Ku mereka menjadi bertubuh Rudra.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Girijā/Pārvatī
Scene: A panoramic Kāśī: fish in the Gaṅgā, jackals on the ghāṭ edges, birds and humans—each surrounded by a subtle Rudra-aura; at the moment of death, their forms dissolve into Śiva’s luminous presence.
FAQs
Kāśī is proclaimed a mokṣa-kṣetra where even non-human beings, by divine grace, attain union with Śiva at death.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) itself is glorified as the supreme sacred field of liberation, rather than a single minor tīrtha.
No specific rite (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is prescribed in this verse; it emphasizes the inherent salvific power of residing/dying in Kāśī through Rudra’s grace.