यत्पुण्यमश्वमेधेन यत्पुण्यं राजसूयतः । काश्यां तत्पुण्यमाप्नोतु त्रिरात्रशयनाद्यमी
yatpuṇyamaśvamedhena yatpuṇyaṃ rājasūyataḥ | kāśyāṃ tatpuṇyamāpnotu trirātraśayanādyamī
O mérito obtido pelo sacrifício Aśvamedha e o mérito do Rājasūya—esses mesmos méritos são alcançados em Kāśī por este disciplinado, pela observância de ali dormir por três noites.
Viṣṇu (contextual: boon/assurance being heard by Śiva in the next verse)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (ṛṣis/śaunaka-group typical)
Scene: A pilgrim observing a three-night vow in Kāśī—sleeping on a simple mat near a ghat, lamps flickering, Gaṅgā flowing, distant bells from Viśvanātha; the city’s sacred aura implied as equal to royal sacrifices.
Kāśī is proclaimed so sanctifying that simple residence there, undertaken with discipline, can equal the merit of great Vedic sacrifices.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa as a supremely merit-bestowing sacred geography.
An observance of residing/sleeping in Kāśī for three nights (trirātra-śayana) with self-restraint.