Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73
तत्रोत्क्रमणकाले तु साक्षाद्विश्वेश्वरः स्वयम् । व्याचष्टे तारकं ब्रह्म येनासौ तन्मयो भवेत्
tatrotkramaṇakāle tu sākṣādviśveśvaraḥ svayam | vyācaṣṭe tārakaṃ brahma yenāsau tanmayo bhavet
وہاں، جسم سے رخصت ہونے کے وقت، خود ساکشاد وِشوَیشور تارک برہمن کی تعلیم دیتے ہیں؛ جس کے ذریعے مرنے والا اسی کے سوروپ میں یکجان ہو جاتا ہے۔
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: null
Scene: Viśveśvara manifests beside a dying devotee in Kāśī, leaning close to whisper the Tāraka Brahman; the devotee’s subtle body rises as a luminous form merging into Śiva’s radiance; Gaṅgā and temple lamps frame the scene.
FAQs
Kāśī is presented as uniquely liberating because Śiva Himself grants saving knowledge/mantra at the moment of death, enabling union with the divine.
Avimukta Kṣetra in Kāśī, presided over by Viśveśvara (Viśvanātha/Śiva).
The verse highlights divine instruction of the ‘Tāraka’ (saving) Brahman/mantra at death rather than a human-performed ritual.