उमास्वयंवरः / भवोद्वाहः, गणसमागमः, अविमुक्तक्षेत्रमाहात्म्यम्, तथा विनायक-उत्पत्तिसूचना
पापिनां यत्र मुक्तिः स्यान् मृतानाम् एकजन्मना अन्यत्र तु कृतं पापं वाराणस्यां व्यपोहति
pāpināṃ yatra muktiḥ syān mṛtānām ekajanmanā anyatra tu kṛtaṃ pāpaṃ vārāṇasyāṃ vyapohati
جہاں گناہگار بھی وہاں مر جائیں تو ایک ہی جنم میں موکش پاتے ہیں؛ اور کہیں اور کیے گئے گناہ بھی وارाणسی میں (شیو کی کرپا سے) مٹ جاتے ہیں۔
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)
It elevates Śiva’s kṣetra (Vārāṇasī/Kāśī) as a direct field of Śiva’s saving power, where the Pashu (soul) can be freed from pāpa and bondage—supporting the Shaiva view that mukti ultimately arises from Pati’s grace, often accessed through devotion, pilgrimage, and worship.
Śiva is implied as Pati—the sovereign remover of pāpa and granter of mukti—whose presence sanctifies space itself. Liberation is not portrayed as merely moral recompense, but as release from binding impurities through Śiva’s anugraha (grace).
The verse highlights tīrtha-sevā and kṣetra-vāsa (pilgrimage/residing in Śiva’s holy place) as a Shaiva sādhanā; it also implies end-of-life remembrance and surrender to Śiva in Kāśī as a potent means toward mukti.