Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 91
मुक्तिदा न मही सा मे वाराणस्यां महीयसी । तन्मही रजसा साम्यं त्रिलोक्यपि न चोद्वहेत्
muktidā na mahī sā me vārāṇasyāṃ mahīyasī | tanmahī rajasā sāmyaṃ trilokyapi na codvahet
ผืนดินของเราที่พาราณสีนั้นยิ่งใหญ่อย่างยิ่ง มิใช่เพียง ‘ดิน’ หากเป็นผู้ประทานโมกษะ แม้ไตรโลกย์ก็ยังเทียบฝุ่นธุลีของมันมิได้
Śiva (probable; first-person possessive ‘my’ and liberation-granting Kāśī motif)
Tirtha: Avimukta Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pilgrims/seekers within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame
Scene: Cosmic comparison scene: the three worlds are shown as vast spheres, yet a tiny handful of Kāśī’s dust shines brighter, indicating its incomparable liberating potency; pilgrims bow to the ground of Vārāṇasī.
FAQs
Kāśī is exalted as intrinsically liberating; even contact with its dust is portrayed as spiritually incomparable.
Vārāṇasī/Kāśī as a whole, with special emphasis on its sanctified ground.
No specific rite is prescribed; the verse establishes the exceptional sanctity that undergirds pilgrimage, worship, and dāna in Kāśī.