Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57
न तपोभिर्न वा दानैर्न यज्ञैर्बहुदक्षिणैः । अन्यत्र लभ्यते मोक्षो यथा काश्यां तनु व्ययात्
na tapobhirna vā dānairna yajñairbahudakṣiṇaiḥ | anyatra labhyate mokṣo yathā kāśyāṃ tanu vyayāt
Bukan dengan tapa, bukan dengan sedekah, bukan dengan yajña yang kaya upah; di tempat lain moksha tidak diperoleh seperti di Kāśī—hanya dengan berlalunya jasad.
Narrative voice within the chapter (contextually Viṣṇu’s discourse)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sages / in-text recipient of Kāśī’s praise
Scene: A contrast tableau: on one side elaborate yajña with heaps of dakṣiṇā, on the other the simple Gaṅgā ghāṭ in Kāśī where a dying devotee attains liberation—Śiva’s unseen grace outweighing all ritual grandeur.
FAQs
Kāśī’s salvific power is presented as surpassing even major ritual and ascetic means, emphasizing the exceptional status of the mokṣa-kṣetra.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the uniquely effective place for liberation.
Tapas, dāna, and yajña are referenced comparatively (not prescribed), to highlight Kāśī’s superior mokṣa-bestowing potency.