Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 80
आनंदकाननमिदं सुखदं पुरैव तत्त्रापि चक्रसरसी मणिकर्णिकाऽथ । स्वः सिंधुसंगतिरथो परमास्पदं च विश्वेशितुः किमिह तन्न विमुक्तये यत्
ānaṃdakānanamidaṃ sukhadaṃ puraiva tattrāpi cakrasarasī maṇikarṇikā'tha | svaḥ siṃdhusaṃgatiratho paramāspadaṃ ca viśveśituḥ kimiha tanna vimuktaye yat
Ānandakānana này từ thuở xưa đã là nơi ban lạc. Trong đó có Cakrasarasī—Maṇikarṇikā—và cả chỗ hội tụ của dòng sông thiên giới. Đây là thánh cư tối thượng của Viśveśvara (Śiva). Ở đây có điều gì mà không dẫn đến giải thoát?
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly presents Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Ānandakānana; Maṇikarṇikā (Cakrasarasī)
Type: ghat
Listener: Ṛṣis (frame typical; not explicit)
Scene: A sacred map-like tableau: the bliss-grove Ānandakānana, the Cakrasarasī/Maṇikarṇikā pool/ghāṭa, the shining Gaṅgā as ‘heavenly river,’ and Viśveśvara’s temple as the axis; pilgrims move through each node toward a central radiance labeled ‘vimukti.’
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as inherently liberation-giving: its sacred sites and Śiva’s presence make the entire kṣetra oriented toward vimukti.
Maṇikarṇikā (identified with Cakrasarasī) within Ānandakānana/Kāśī, along with the revered river-confluence associated with the heavenly river.
No explicit rite (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is stated in this verse; it functions as a mahātmya declaration that the very kṣetra leads to liberation.