Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23
स्मरणादस्य लिंगस्य पापं जन्मद्वयार्जितम् । अवश्यं नश्यति क्षिप्रं मम वाक्यान्न संशयः
smaraṇādasya liṃgasya pāpaṃ janmadvayārjitam | avaśyaṃ naśyati kṣipraṃ mama vākyānna saṃśayaḥ
اس لِنگ کا محض سمرن کرنے سے دو جنموں کے جمع کیے ہوئے گناہ یقیناً فوراً مٹ جاتے ہیں—یہ میرا کلام ہے، اس میں کوئی شک نہیں۔
Śiva (as Lord of Kāśī/Viśveśvara), as inferred from the first-person assertion “mama vākyāt” within Kāśīkhaṇḍa context
Tirtha: Kāśī—praised Liṅga of the adhyāya (within Viśveśvara-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devas (‘surāḥ’ addressed explicitly in nearby verses)
Scene: A devotee seated in quiet contemplation, mentally visualizing a radiant liṅga in Kāśī; the liṅga emits a soft halo while the Gaṅgā and ghāṭas appear as a sanctifying backdrop, emphasizing ‘smaraṇa’ as inner pilgrimage.
FAQs
Even simple devotional remembrance (smaraṇa) of the sacred Liṅga in Kāśī is portrayed as powerful enough to destroy deep-rooted karmic sin.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is implied through the Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting, praising a particular sacred Liṅga associated with the city’s Śaiva greatness.
Smaraṇa—mental recollection/remembering of the Liṅga—presented as an efficacious spiritual practice.