Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 3
अगस्त्य उवाच । साक्षन्मोक्षो न चैतासु पुरीषु प्रियभाषिणि । पुरोद्दिश्यामुमेवार्थमितिहासो मयाश्रुतः
agastya uvāca | sākṣanmokṣo na caitāsu purīṣu priyabhāṣiṇi | puroddiśyāmumevārthamitihāso mayāśrutaḥ
阿伽斯提耶说：善言者啊，在这些城中，解脱并非自然而然、也非立刻可得。正为此事，我曾听闻一则古老传说。
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).