Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5
हुत्वाग्निहोत्रमपि च यावज्जीवं द्विजोत्तमाः । अंते श्रयंते मुक्त्यै यां सेयं श्रीमणिकर्णिका
hutvāgnihotramapi ca yāvajjīvaṃ dvijottamāḥ | aṃte śrayaṃte muktyai yāṃ seyaṃ śrīmaṇikarṇikā
ఉత్తమ ద్విజులు జీవితాంతం అగ్నిహోత్రం చేసినప్పటికీ, చివరికి మోక్షార్థం ఎవరి శరణు పొందుతారో—ఆమెయే ఈ శ్రీ మణికర్ణిక।
Skanda (deduced; Adhyāya context)
Tirtha: Śrī Maṇikarṇikā
Type: ghat
Scene: A venerable dvija who has tended the sacred fires all his life approaches Maṇikarṇikā at life’s end, hands folded; the Agnihotra fires fade into the background as the Gaṅgā and the mokṣa-tīrtha glow, suggesting the transition from ritual merit to final liberation-refuge.
FAQs
Even lifelong Vedic merit culminates in taking refuge in Kāśī’s Maṇikarṇikā, emphasizing tīrtha-grace as the final support for liberation.
Śrī Maṇikarṇikā in Kāśī, presented as a final refuge for mukti.
Agnihotra is referenced as a lifelong observance; the verse highlights ‘taking refuge’ in Maṇikarṇikā at life’s end for liberation.