Shloka 53
अविमुक्तक्षेत्रमाहात्म्य
The Greatness of Avimukta–Vārāṇasī and Viśveśvara
काश्यां यो वै मृतश्चैव तस्य जन्म पुनर्नहि । समुद्दिश्य प्रयागे च मृतस्य कामनाफले
kāśyāṃ yo vai mṛtaścaiva tasya janma punarnahi | samuddiśya prayāge ca mṛtasya kāmanāphale
ఎవడు నిజంగా కాశీలో దేహత్యాగం చేస్తాడో అతనికి మళ్లీ జన్మ లేదు. అలాగే ప్రయాగంలో మృతుని నిమిత్తం సంకల్ప-దానం చేస్తే అది ఫలప్రదమై అతని అభీష్ట ఆధ్యాత్మిక ఫలాన్ని సిద్ధి చేస్తుంది.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Mahākāla
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Death in Kāśī is proclaimed birth-ending (apunarbhava), reflecting the kṣetra doctrine that Śiva grants final release there; the verse also links post-death rites at Prayāga as efficacious when dedicated for the departed.
Significance: Antya-kāla-kṛpā: dying in Kāśī is treated as a direct gateway to liberation; śrāddha/uddiśya rites at Prayāga are affirmed as potent for the deceased’s intended spiritual welfare.
Role: liberating
Offering: naivedya
FAQs
It proclaims Kāśī as a mokṣa-kṣetra under Lord Shiva’s special grace—death there ends saṃsāra—and it affirms Prayāga as a powerful tīrtha where dedicated rites for the departed bear the intended spiritual fruit.
Kāśī is celebrated as Shiva’s own abode where Saguna Shiva’s compassion is immediately accessible; pilgrimage, darśana, and Linga-worship there are portrayed as direct supports for liberation and for sanctifying rites performed with Shiva-centered intention.
It points to tīrtha-based practice: performing dedicated offerings for the departed at Prayāga (as a focused saṅkalpa) and seeking Shiva’s grace at Kāśī through prayer and devotional remembrance—commonly supported by japa of the Panchakshara mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya).