Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87
दृक्पिच्छिला विलोक्यंते माणिक्यस्तंभराजयः । यतोऽविमुक्ते स्वक्षेत्रे मोक्षलक्ष्म्यंकुरा इव
dṛkpicchilā vilokyaṃte māṇikyastaṃbharājayaḥ | yato'vimukte svakṣetre mokṣalakṣmyaṃkurā iva
แถวเสาศิลาทับทิมแลดูราวกับ ‘เหนียวติดสายตา’—ชวนพิศวงยิ่งนัก; ในอวิมุกตะ เขตแดนของพระศิวะเอง ประหนึ่งหน่ออ่อนแห่งศรีแห่งโมกษะที่ผุดขึ้น
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Rows of ruby pillars in a Kāśī shrine-hall shimmer so intensely that the eye seems to cling to them; the pillars are visualized as tender sprouts of mokṣa-śrī rising from Śiva’s own soil.
FAQs
Kāśī is presented as a mokṣa-kṣetra: even its beauty points beyond itself to liberation, the highest ‘wealth’ bestowed by Śiva.
Avimukta-Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), explicitly named as Śiva’s own sacred domain.
None; the verse uses symbolism to proclaim Kāśī’s liberating greatness.