Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51
माभूच्छापो मुनेः काश्यां निर्वाणप्रतिबंधकः । इत्यनुक्रोशतो देवस्तस्य प्रत्यक्षतां गतः
mābhūcchāpo muneḥ kāśyāṃ nirvāṇapratibaṃdhakaḥ | ityanukrośato devastasya pratyakṣatāṃ gataḥ
“Janganlah sumpahan sang resi di Kāśī menjadi penghalang pembebasan (mokṣa).” Dengan belas kasih demikian, Tuhan pun menampakkan diri secara langsung di hadapannya.
Skanda (narration; the Lord’s intent expressed)
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Primary interlocutors of Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame
Scene: Śiva, moved by compassion, manifests before the sage with the resolve that no curse should obstruct liberation in Kāśī; the atmosphere shifts from threat to serene assurance.
FAQs
Kāśī’s mokṣa-bestowing power is divinely protected; compassion overrides wrath to preserve liberation.
Kāśī, explicitly praised as a place where liberation must not be impeded.
None; the verse states a theological safeguard: Kāśī’s nirvāṇa-path is preserved.