Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 180
अशोकाख्यमिदं तीर्थं गंगाकेशव एष वै । मोक्षद्वारमिदं श्रेष्ठं स्वर्ग द्वारमिदं विदुः
aśokākhyamidaṃ tīrthaṃ gaṃgākeśava eṣa vai | mokṣadvāramidaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ svarga dvāramidaṃ viduḥ
Tīrtha ini bernama Aśoka, dan inilah Gaṅgā-Keśava. Tempat yang amat utama ini ialah ‘Pintu Mokṣa’; ia juga dikenali sebagai ‘Pintu Syurga’.
Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative convention)
Tirtha: Aśoka tīrtha (Gaṅgā-Keśava)
Type: ghat
Scene: A Gaṅgā-side tīrtha marked ‘Aśoka’: steps descending to the river, a small shrine of Gaṅgā-Keśava, and an ethereal archway labeled ‘Mokṣa-dvāra’ with a second luminous arch ‘Svarga-dvāra’; pilgrims offer lamps at dusk.
FAQs
Approaching Gaṅgā-Keśava at Aśoka Tīrtha is celebrated as a direct threshold to higher destiny—culminating in liberation.
Aśoka-named tīrtha identified with Gaṅgā-Keśava, praised as a mokṣa-dvāra in Kāśī.
No explicit prescription appears; the verse primarily declares the tīrtha’s salvific status, implying pilgrimage and darśana.