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
حتیٰ کہ بہترین دْوِج بھی، عمر بھر اگنی ہوترا ادا کر کے، آخر میں مکتی کے لیے جس کی پناہ لیتے ہیں—وہ یہی شری منیکرنیکا ہے۔
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.