Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43
विश्वनाथो ह्यहं नाथः काशिकामुक्तिकाशिका । सुधातरंगा स्वर्गंगा त्रय्येषा किन्न यच्छति
viśvanātho hyahaṃ nāthaḥ kāśikāmuktikāśikā | sudhātaraṃgā svargaṃgā trayyeṣā kinna yacchati
میں ہی وِشوَناتھ، ربّ ہوں؛ کاشیکا موکش عطا کرنے والی ہے۔ امرت جیسی موجوں والی یہ سوَرگ گنگا—یہ تثلیث بھلا کیا نہیں بخشتی؟
Śiva as Viśvanātha (strongly implied by 'ahaṃ viśvanāthaḥ')
Tirtha: Kāśī–Viśvanātha–Gaṅgā triad
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devotees/Ṛṣis (contextual audience within Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration)
Scene: Śiva as Viśvanātha stands as the inner lord of Kāśī; the Gaṅgā flows with amṛta-like waves; the city itself shines as ‘muktikāśikā’, forming a triadic halo of liberation.
FAQs
Śiva, Kāśī, and Gaṅgā together constitute an unsurpassed salvific refuge, granting both worldly and otherworldly good.
Kāśī (Viśvanātha-kṣetra) and Gaṅgā in Kāśī—presented as a liberation-bestowing sacred complex.
Implied practice is Gaṅgā association (snāna) and devotion to Viśvanātha in Kāśī, though not stated as a formal injunction.