Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 51
श्रीविष्णुरुवाच । अग्निबिंदो मुनिश्रेष्ठ स्थास्याम्यहमिह ध्रुवम् । काशीभक्तिमतां पुंसां मुक्तिमार्गं समादिशन्
śrīviṣṇuruvāca | agnibiṃdo muniśreṣṭha sthāsyāmyahamiha dhruvam | kāśībhaktimatāṃ puṃsāṃ muktimārgaṃ samādiśan
Đức Śrī Viṣṇu phán: “Hỡi Agnibindu, bậc tối thượng trong các hiền triết, Ta sẽ ngự tại đây vững bền không đổi, để chỉ dạy con đường giải thoát cho những người một lòng sùng kính Kāśī.”
Śrī Viṣṇu
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Agnibindu
Scene: Śrī Viṣṇu addresses the sage Agnibindu in Kāśī, declaring His unwavering residence there to guide Kāśī-devotees to mokṣa; backdrop of Gaṅgā ghāṭs and temple spires.
FAQs
Devotion to Kāśī is portrayed as a direct qualification for receiving instruction in mokṣa, with the deity’s abiding presence supporting liberation.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), celebrated as a liberation-giving sacred geography (sthāla-māhātmya).
No specific rite is prescribed here; the emphasis is on bhakti to Kāśī and guidance toward mokṣa.