Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31
मानवानां हितायात्र स्थास्येहं सपरिग्रहः । दृष्टेनानेन लिंगेन पूजितेन स्तुतेन च । कृतकृत्यो भवेन्मर्त्यः संसारं न विशेत्पुनः
mānavānāṃ hitāyātra sthāsyehaṃ saparigrahaḥ | dṛṣṭenānena liṃgena pūjitena stutena ca | kṛtakṛtyo bhavenmartyaḥ saṃsāraṃ na viśetpunaḥ
为利益世人，我将与随从眷属住于此处。仅仅瞻礼此林伽——并加以供奉与赞颂——凡人便得圆满所愿，不再复入轮回（saṃsāra）。
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Kṛttivāseśvara
Type: temple
Listener: Ṛṣis / pilgrims
Scene: Śiva enthroned in subtle, formless presence around the liṅga, surrounded by gaṇas and attendant divinities; a pilgrim receives darśana, offers flowers and lamp, and recites hymns—depicted as breaking the wheel of saṃsāra.
FAQs
In Kāśī, simple acts—darśana, pūjā, and stuti—are exalted as direct means to liberation through Śiva’s abiding grace.
Kṛttivāseśvara liṅga in Avimukta-Kāśī (Vārāṇasī).
Darśana (seeing the liṅga), pūjā (worship), and stuti (praise/recitation) are explicitly stated as spiritually efficacious.