Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19
संत्युपायाः सहस्रं तु मुक्तये न तथा मुने । हेलयैषा यथा दद्यान्निर्वाणं मणिकर्णिका
saṃtyupāyāḥ sahasraṃ tu muktaye na tathā mune | helayaiṣā yathā dadyānnirvāṇaṃ maṇikarṇikā
ఓ మునీ! ముక్తికి వేల ఉపాయాలు ఉన్నా, ఇలాంటిది లేదు; మణికర్ణిక అయితే అలసత్వమాత్రంతోనూ నిర్వాణం (మోక్షం) ప్రసాదిస్తుంది.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā
Type: ghat
Listener: A sage addressed as ‘mune’ (within the frame, Śaunaka)
Scene: A sage is addressed while the narrator points toward Maṇikarṇikā; above the ghāṭ, a luminous path or subtle Śiva-presence signifies nirvāṇa granted with ease, contrasting with a background montage of arduous yogic and ritual practices.
FAQs
The tīrtha’s grace surpasses laborious methods—Kāśī’s Maṇikarṇikā is celebrated as a uniquely direct bestower of liberation.
Maṇikarṇikā tīrtha in Kāśī (Vārāṇasī).
No specific ritual is mandated here; the emphasis is on the tīrtha’s inherent liberating potency, granting nirvāṇa ‘helayā’ (with ease).