रेरे भवे शोकजलैकपूर्णे पापेस्मलोकाः पतिताब्धिमध्ये । विद्राणनिद्राणविरोधिपापां काशीं परित्यज्यतरिं किमर्थम्
rere bhave śokajalaikapūrṇe pāpesmalokāḥ patitābdhimadhye | vidrāṇanidrāṇavirodhipāpāṃ kāśīṃ parityajyatariṃ kimartham
रे रे! भवे शोकजलैकपूर्णे पापाब्धिमध्ये जनाः पतन्ति। विद्रावयत्पापमविद्यनिद्रां काशी तरिर्भूत्वा स्थिते, तां परित्यज्य किमन्यतरेण तरितुमिच्छसि॥
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī / Avimukta
Type: kshetra
Scene: A sorrow-flooded world-ocean where beings sink; Kāśī appears as a luminous boat with Śiva as ferryman, shattering dark ‘sleep’ (avidyā) as dawn breaks over the Gaṅgā and Viśvanātha’s spire.
Kāśī is praised as a direct, powerful refuge for crossing saṃsāra; rejecting it is portrayed as spiritual folly.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), revered as the liberating sacred city.
No specific ritual is prescribed; the verse emphasizes taking refuge in Kāśī itself as the saving ‘boat’.