Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86
दीक्षितो वा दिवाकीर्तिः पंडितो वाप्यपंडितः । तुल्यो मे मोक्षदीक्षायां संप्राप्य मणिकर्णिकाम्
dīkṣito vā divākīrtiḥ paṃḍito vāpyapaṃḍitaḥ | tulyo me mokṣadīkṣāyāṃ saṃprāpya maṇikarṇikām
ਦੀਕਸ਼ਿਤ ਹੋਵੇ ਜਾਂ ਦਿਨ-ਵਾਂਗ ਪ੍ਰਸਿੱਧ, ਪੰਡਿਤ ਹੋਵੇ ਜਾਂ ਅਪੰਡਿਤ—ਮਣਿਕਰਨਿਕਾ ਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਕਰਕੇ ਮੇਰੀ ਮੋਖ਼ਸ਼-ਦੀਕਸ਼ਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਭ ਇਕਸਾਰ ਹਨ।
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā
Type: ghat
Listener: Purāṇic audience within Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration
Scene: On the ghāṭa steps of Maṇikarṇikā, a line of diverse figures—initiated ascetic, renowned scholar, ordinary laborer—stand equally before a radiant Śiva-liṅga; a single stream of light touches all, symbolizing mokṣa-dīkṣā.
FAQs
In Maṇikarṇikā’s liberating sphere, spiritual privilege is leveled—liberation is offered without discrimination.
Maṇikarṇikā in Kāśī (Varanasi).
Mokṣa-dīkṣā (initiation into liberation) is referenced as being granted upon reaching Maṇikarṇikā.