Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 3
अगस्त्य उवाच । साक्षन्मोक्षो न चैतासु पुरीषु प्रियभाषिणि । पुरोद्दिश्यामुमेवार्थमितिहासो मयाश्रुतः
agastya uvāca | sākṣanmokṣo na caitāsu purīṣu priyabhāṣiṇi | puroddiśyāmumevārthamitihāso mayāśrutaḥ
Agastya nói: Hỡi người lời nói dịu ngọt, tại các thành này, giải thoát không tự nhiên hay trực tiếp mà được. Chính về điều ấy, ta đã nghe một cổ sử xưa.
Agastya
Tirtha: Mokṣa-purīs (with Kāśī implied as primary in this khanda)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Lopāmudrā
Scene: Agastya speaks with measured clarity to Lopāmudrā, gently correcting the assumption of instant liberation; a sense of calm authority, with a subtle ‘story-within-story’ opening like a curtain behind them.
FAQs
Liberation depends on causes—dharma, devotion, and divine grace—not merely on physical location; sacred geography is joined to inner fitness.
No single site is praised in this verse; it frames a teaching about ‘these cities’ known for liberation (mukti-purīs).
None; it introduces an explanatory itihāsa (traditional account).