Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 28
मुक्तिक्षेत्रं कृतं येन महालिंगेन काशिका । अविमुक्ते महादेवं यो द्रक्ष्यत्यत्रमानवः
muktikṣetraṃ kṛtaṃ yena mahāliṃgena kāśikā | avimukte mahādevaṃ yo drakṣyatyatramānavaḥ
எந்த மகாலிங்கத்தால் காசிகா ‘முக்திக்ஷேத்திரம்’ ஆனதோ—அவிமுக்தத்தில் இங்கு மகாதேவரை தரிசிக்கும் மனிதன்…
Skanda (deduced: Kāśī Khaṇḍa context, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta (inner Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Within the dense sacred lanes of Avimukta, a towering, radiant Mahāliṅga is worshipped; a pilgrim receives Mahādeva-darśana as the city itself glows like a mukti-field.
FAQs
Kāśī becomes a mokṣa-giving land through Śiva’s presence as the Mahāliṅga; darśana of Mahādeva in Avimukta is supremely transformative.
Avimukta-kṣetra within Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated as the ‘never-abandoned’ sacred zone of Śiva.
The verse highlights darśana (beholding) of Mahādeva in Avimukta; it implies pilgrimage and reverent approach to the Liṅga.