Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 45
महामहोभूर्मणिकर्णिकास्थली तमस्ततिर्यत्र समेति संक्षयम् । परः शतैर्जन्मभिरेधितापि या दिवाकराग्नींदुकरैरनिग्रहा
mahāmahobhūrmaṇikarṇikāsthalī tamastatiryatra sameti saṃkṣayam | paraḥ śatairjanmabhiredhitāpi yā divākarāgnīṃdukarairanigrahā
Maṇikarṇikā—imensa em majestade e fulgor—é o solo onde a própria massa de trevas chega ao fim. Ainda que essa escuridão se fortaleça por centenas de nascimentos, não resiste ao freio do esplendor, como Sol, Fogo e Lua, que ali prevalece.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā
Type: ghat
Listener: Muni (unnamed in the excerpt)
Scene: A radiant Maṇikarṇikā-sthalī where darkness dissolves; the ghāṭa glows with a tri-luminary aura (sun-fire-moon), with pilgrims and lamps reflecting on the river.
FAQs
Kāśī’s Maṇikarṇikā is portrayed as a place where deep karmic darkness accumulated over many births is dispelled by divine spiritual brilliance.
Maṇikarṇikā-sthalī (Maṇikarṇikā in Kāśī/Vārāṇasī), celebrated as supremely radiant and liberating.
No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it focuses on the intrinsic purifying power (māhātmya) of the place.