Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 36
न मोक्षलक्ष्म्योत्र समक्षमीक्षितास्तनूभृता केनचिदेव कुत्रचित् । अवैम्यहं शर्मद सर्वशर्मदा सरूपिणी मुक्तिरसौ हि काशिका
na mokṣalakṣmyotra samakṣamīkṣitāstanūbhṛtā kenacideva kutracit | avaimyahaṃ śarmada sarvaśarmadā sarūpiṇī muktirasau hi kāśikā
உடலுடையோருக்கு ‘மோக்ஷ-லக்ஷ்மி’ இவ்வளவு நேரடியாக வேறெங்கும் காணப்படுவதில்லை. எல்லா நலனும் ஆனந்தமும் அருளும் காசிகையே கண்கூடாகத் தோன்றும் முக்தி என நான் உணர்ந்தேன்.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Kāśikā)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Kāśī personified as a radiant feminine presence arising from the cityscape—ghāṭas, spires, and the Gaṅgā forming her ornaments—while a seeker ‘sees’ mokṣa-lakṣmī directly, as if liberation stands before him.
FAQs
Kāśī is not merely a means to liberation; it is portrayed as liberation itself, accessible to embodied beings.
Kāśī (Kāśikā), revered as mukti-svarūpa—liberation in embodied form.
No specific rite is prescribed; the verse stresses direct spiritual realization through Kāśī’s sanctity.