Kāśī

Kāśī, “the luminous city”

Pāpa has other meanings too: see all meanings of Pāpa. Sudarśana has other meanings too: see all meanings of Sudarśana. Citraratha has other meanings too: see all meanings of Citraratha. Kāśirāja has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kāśirāja. Narāntaka has other meanings too: see all meanings of Narāntaka. Trilocana has other meanings too: see all meanings of Trilocana. Viśveśvara has other meanings too: see all meanings of Viśveśvara. Bhairava has other meanings too: see all meanings of Bhairava. Kuśadhvaja has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kuśadhvaja. Daśāśvamedha has other meanings too: see all meanings of Daśāśvamedha.

Kāśī, also called Vārāṇasī or Banāras, is the most sacred city in the Purāṇas. It lies on the western bank of the Gaṅgā in Uttar Pradesh. It is the eternal city of Bhagavān Viśvanātha (Bhagavān Śiva), and Bhagavān Vishṇu lives here as its antaryāmin (inner controller). It is a mukti-kshetra, a field of moksha, where even those who have done the gravest pāpa (sin) are freed. It is also the seat of the Viśveśvara Jyotirliṅga, the seventh of the twelve Jyotirliṅgas, and one of the seven most sacred cities (saptapurī) of Bhārata.

The Purāṇas tell of two great events set here. Bhagavān Śiva was freed from brahma-hatyā at the Kapālamocana tīrtha. And it was ordained that any being who dies within the boundaries of Kāśī receives moksha directly.

The Vāmana Purāṇa calls Vārāṇasī the Hari-kshetra, the holy land of Bhagavān Vishṇu’s form Yogaśāyī between the rivers Varaṇā and Asī, the best kshetra in the three worlds. There Bhagavān Śiva was freed of Brahmahatyā by bathing in its tīrthas and seeing Daśāśvamedha and Lolārka; there Sūrya, falling in the fire of Bhagavān Śiva’s eye, was raised up again and named Lola; and there Prahlāda bathed in the Asī and the Varaṇā and worshipped Avimukteśvara and Mādhava.

In the Agni Purāṇa, Bhagavān Śiva tells Devī Pārvatī that he never leaves this kshetra, and so it is called Avimukta. The Purāṇa gives its measure, two yojanas long and half a yojana wide between the Varaṇā and the Asī, names its eight most secret tīrthas, and calls it the best of all tīrthas, the best place for śrāddha and one of the twelve tīrthas that destroy all pāpa.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa names Kāśī among the holy places where dharma done gives a thousandfold fruit, and says that as Kāśī is among all kshetras, so is the Śrīmad Bhāgavata among the Purāṇas. It tells of the kingdom of Kāśī, whose daughters Ambikā and Ambālikā Bhīshma carried off, and of the day when Śrī Kṛshṇa slew the king of Kāśī with Pauṇḍraka and his Sudarśana cakra burned the city.

The Bhavishya Purāṇa names Kāśī among the seven sacred purīs. Its Pratisarga Parva tells that Bhagavān Śiva called the city the eternal Brahman itself and bowed to it, that Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa came to Kāśīpurī and taught the Satyanārāyaṇa pūjā there, that Devī Annapūrṇā is its queen, and that Bhagavān Sūrya, Rudras and devas took birth here or came here as great teachers.

The Brahma Purāṇa tells of Kāśī’s kings: Dhanvantari, Divodāsa and Alarka, who killed the rākshasa Kshemaka and built Vārāṇasī anew when Nikumbha‘s śāpa of a thousand years had ended. It names Kāśī as the birthplace of Sāndīpani and the measure of holiness for the Ekāmra-kshetra and the tīrthas of the Gautamī, and it tells how the Sudarśana cakra of Śrī Kṛshṇa followed the Kṛtyā raised at Avimukta and burned Vārāṇasī. Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 1, Chapters 4–5; Khaṇḍa 2, Chapters 24–27, 32–33; Khaṇḍa 4, Chapters 7–9, 12–13

Kāśī as a field of moksha

The Varāha Purāṇa (Chapter 96) shows Kāśī as a city outside the ordinary rules of karma and rebirth. Bhagavān Vishṇu lives here as the antaryāmin. Bhagavān Śiva lives here as Viśvanātha, the lord of all worlds. Together they make a field of such strong śakti that any being who dies within the boundaries of Kāśī, in an act of devotion or by accident, hears the Tāraka mantra (the mantra that gives moksha) whispered into the ear by Bhagavān Śiva himself, and reaches moksha. The Purāṇa says that even those who have done brahma-hatyā, cow-slaughter, betrayal of the guru and other mahā-pātakas (great pāpas) are freed if they die in Kāśī.

Geography and names

According to the Śiva Purāṇa (Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 22), Kāśī stands on the western bank of the Gaṅgā. At this point the river curves so that it flows from south to north. A devotee who faces east to the sunrise also faces the Gaṅgā. The sacred ghāṭs line the bank and go down in stone steps to the water.

The city lies between two smaller rivers: the Varuṇā to the north and the Asī to the south. This gives the name Vārāṇasī. The name Kāśī comes from kāś, “to shine”: the city that shines with the divine light of Bhagavān Śiva.

Per Vāmana Purāṇa, the two rivers flow from the feet of Yogaśāyī, a form born of the imperishable aṃśa of Bhagavān Vishṇu: the Varaṇā from his right foot and the Asi from his left. The city between them is the Hari-kshetra, which reaches from Yogaśāyī to the darśana of Keśava, dear to Śrī Hari and, the ṛshis told Sūrya, to become dear to Bhagavān Śiva in the future (Chapters 3 and 16).

Kāśī before creation

The Śiva Purāṇa (Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 22) says that Kāśī came before the universe. When Bhagavān Śiva began creation, he was living at Kāśī. The city is not set in the created universe as other places are. It rests on the tip of the trident of Bhagavān Śiva, above and beyond the cycles of creation and dissolution.

When mahāpralaya (the great dissolution) comes and all the worlds dissolve, Kāśī alone remains, held on the trident. At the next creation it is set down again and the universe is built around it. So Kāśī is the most lasting place in all creation.

The Kāśī Khaṇḍa repeats this teaching. Kāśī is held on the tip of the trident of Bhagavān Śiva at the time of pralaya. The city does not sink. It stands on the earth but is not of the earth. In Chapter 5, Agastya laments in these words: how can anyone leave Kāśī, whose puṇya has been shown both by the scriptures and by Bhagavān Śiva himself, and which is held up on the tip of the trident of Bhagavān Śiva, the destroyer of Kāma (the deva of love), even in the time of annihilation?

The Avimukta-kshetra

Kāśī is called avimukta, the place that Bhagavān Śiva never leaves. He may withdraw from other places, but he stays at Kāśī always. The Śiva Purāṇa (Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapter 23) says that this unbroken presence makes Kāśī unlike any other tīrtha.

The Agni Purāṇa

The Agni Purāṇa (Chapter 112) gives the māhātmya (glory) of Vārāṇasī in the words of Parameśvara, who speaks to Pārvatī. Bhagavān Śiva says: “I shall never abandon this kshetra, and for this very reason it bears the name Avimukta.”

The eight secret tīrthas. The Agni Purāṇa names eight tīrthas inside the Avimukta-kshetra as paramagopanīya, supremely secret. They are Hariścandra, Āmātakeśvara, Japyeśvara, Śrīparvata, Mahālaya, Bhṛgu, Caṇḍeśvara and Kedāra. Bhagavān Śiva says: “My Avimukta-kshetra is the most secret of all secret things.” They are very hidden and show themselves to those of great puṇya and devotion.

The boundaries. The Avimukta-kshetra is two yojanas long and half a yojana wide. It is bounded by the rivers Varaṇā and Asī, and from these two the name Vārāṇasī comes. Every act of dharma done within these bounds gives both bhukti (worldly good) and mukti (liberation). These acts are snāna (bathing), japa, homa, death, pūjā of the devas, śrāddha, dāna and even simply living there. The Purāṇa also says that even with broken legs, lying unable to move, one should not leave Kāśī, so high is its holiness.

Imperishable fruit. All japa, tapas and homa done within the Avimukta-kshetra give akshaya-phala, imperishable fruit. Those who live in Kāśī with faith (śraddhā) and remember the name of Śrī Hari obtain both bhukti and mukti. The name of Śrī Hari, chanted in Kāśī, has a special power in the field of Bhagavān Śiva.

Kāśī among the tīrthas. In other chapters the Agni Purāṇa returns to Kāśī again and again.

• In the glory of the tīrthas, Agni Deva says that Vārāṇasī is the best of all tīrthas, and that it is also called the Avimukta-kshetra. The Kapālamocana tīrtha is also excellent (Chapter 109).
• In the Śrāddha-kalpa, which Kātyāyana Maharshi taught the munis, śrāddha (the rite for the departed ancestors) done at Gayā, Prayāga, the Gaṅgā, Kurukshetra, the Narmadā, Śrīparvata, Prabhāsa, the Śālagrāma tīrtha, Kāśī, the Godāvarī, the Purushottama-kshetra and the like is the best (Chapter 117).
• In the teaching on prāyaścitta (rites of atonement), Kāśī is one of the twelve tīrthas that destroy all pāpa: the Gaṅgā, Gayā, Prayāga, Kāśī, Ayodhyā, Avanti, Kurukshetra, Pushkara, Naimisha, Purushottama, Sālagrāma and Prabhāsa (Chapter 174).
• At the abhisheka (consecration bath) of a king, taught by Pushkara to Paraśurāma, “the great tīrtha Vārāṇasī” is among the tīrthas called on to bathe the king and protect him (Chapter 219).
• In the fifty-five names of Śrī Mahāvishṇu, each to be remembered at its own holy place, Bhagavān Vishṇu is to be remembered on the bank at Kāśī as Mahāyogī. One who remembers the names in this way gains bhukti and mukti; śrāddha, dāna, japa and tarpaṇa done at these kshetras are multiplied a crore-fold; and one who reads or hears the names is freed of pāpa and attains svarga (Chapter 305).

Sources: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 109, 112, 117, 174, 219, 305

The Kūrma Purāṇa

The Kūrma Purāṇa (Poorvardha, Chapters 29–35) shows Kāśī as the highest goal to which Vyāsa points Arjuna as Kaliyuga begins. At the end of their meeting Vyāsa tells Arjuna that in Kaliyuga only Vārāṇasī, the city of Bhagavān Śiva, can destroy all pāpa and be the one refuge of dharma. Vyāsa himself then goes to Kāśī to live there and to worship Bhagavān Śiva (Chapters 29–30).

The discourse to Pārvatī (Chapters 31–35). Jaimini and the ṛshis at Kāśī ask Vyāsa about the best means of moksha. Vyāsa tells them what Parameśvara once taught Pārvatī on the summit of Meru. In Chapter 31 Bhagavān Śiva says:

“This Vārāṇasī is my own abode, a kshetra of supreme and secret majesty. It holds all the tīrthas of sky and earth within its form as a cremation ground (śmaśāna). It is called Avimukta because I never abandon it. One who enters the Avimukta-kshetra is freed from the pāpa of countless births. All varṇas, mixed jātis, mlecchas, even insects and birds, whoever dies here at the last moment, are reborn bearing the marks of Śiva himself. No pāpī who dies in the Avimukta-kshetra goes to naraka. All receive the grace (anugraha) of Śiva and the state of moksha. When a being breathes its last here, the deathless Parameśvara whispers the tāraka-brahma into the ear at the very moment of death, and that alone gives moksha, whatever the earlier karma. The kshetra is bounded by the rivers Varaṇā and Asī, and from those two the name Vārāṇasī comes. Within this field every dāna, tapas, japa and homa gives akshaya-phala. Even living here, once one has reached the Avimukta, is enough for moksha in one birth. What cannot be reached in a thousand births elsewhere is reached here in one.”

The liṅgas of Kāśī. When Vyāsa comes to Kāśī he visits several sacred liṅgas in turn. The Kūrma Purāṇa names them as the secret places of Bhagavān Śiva in Vārāṇasī, which can be known only by his grace.

• Oṃkāreśvara liṅga (Chapter 32). This is the pañcāyatana liṅga at the river Macchodarī, the size of a cowskin, always worshipped by siddhas and brahmarshis. Vyāsa worships it and explains the pañcārtha of pāśupata-jñāna that the Oṃkāra-liṅga holds. Remembering this liṅga alone destroys all pāpa.
• Kṛttivāseśvara liṅga (Chapter 32). Bhagavān Śiva appeared from this liṅga to protect brāhmaṇas from a rākshasa in the form of an elephant. He killed the rākshasa with his śūla (trident) and put on the elephant hide. So he is named Kṛttivāsa, the wearer of hide. Whoever takes refuge at Kṛttivāseśvara and lives in Vārāṇasī reaches moksha in one birth.
• Kapardīśvara liṅga (Chapter 33). This is called the highest and most secret liṅga of Kāśī. Near it is the Piśācamocana kuṇḍa. A deer killed by a tiger in the grounds of Kapardīśvara at once took a divine form and was carried to Śiva-loka, and Vyāsa and his disciples saw it. Vyāsa explains that brahmahatyā and all other mahāpātakas are destroyed by worshipping Kapardīśvara. Bathing in the Piśācamocana kuṇḍa also destroys all pāpa.
• Madhyameśvara liṅga (Chapter 34). Vyāsa visits it after years at Kapardīśvara.
• Viśveśvara liṅga (Chapters 34–35). This is the chief mahāliṅga form of Bhagavān Śiva. Vyāsa finally returns here to live for good.

The text also lists many sacred tīrthas in Vārāṇasī, among them Maṇikarṇikā, Kapālamocana (where the pāpa of brahmahatyā is dissolved), Lolārka, Kedāra, Trilocana, Someśvara and others (Chapter 34).

The Kūrma Purāṇa also tells how a piśāca was freed through the grace of the Kapardīśvara kshetra, together with the stotra to Bhagavān Śiva by Śaṅkukarṇa.

Vyāsa’s home in Kāśī and Pārvatī’s grace (Chapter 35). After years of pilgrimage to all the tīrthas of Kāśī, Vyāsa sent his disciples away and settled in Vārāṇasī for good. He bathed at the three sandhyās, did pūjā to Bhagavān Śiva and lived on alms (bhikshā). Once no alms came, and Vyāsa got ready to curse the city. Devī Pārvatī herself came in human form, gave him alms, and gently scolded him for his anger (krodha). When Vyāsa saw who she was and bowed to the ground, Devī Pārvatī forgave him. She gave him leave to enter Kāśī on the Caturdaśī and Ashṭamī tithis. From that day Vyāsa lived near Kāśī, and the learned who heard of this have honoured the kshetra ever since.

The Uttarardha (Chapters 30 and 42). The Uttarardha of the Kūrma Purāṇa says plainly that Kāśī is ten thousand koṭi times greater than all other tīrthas put together. No tīrtha on earth, in any of the seven dvīpas, can be compared with Vārāṇasī in the power to give moksha.

It also names the best fruit of the Śatarudrīya at Kāśī. Those who recite the Śatarudrīya without a break, as a way of life, and who are at Vārāṇasī at the moment of death, receive moksha directly from Parameśvara. Kāśī is also the one place that dissolves brahmahatyā. The Kapālamocana tīrtha here is the ground where the skull of Kālabhairava finally fell, and where the brahmahatyā-dosha of Kālabhairava was fully dissolved. This event is why Kāśī alone can dissolve even the gravest mahāpātakas.

The prāyaścitta (atonement) teaching of the Uttarardha names bathing at Kāśī as a substitute for the full twelve years of carrying a skull as atonement for brahmahatyā.

The Liṅga Purāṇa

The Liṅga Purāṇa speaks of Kāśī in two places in its great stotras.

In the stotra that Śrī Hari Vishṇu sings to Parameśvara when the Jyotirliṅga appears (Chapter 18), he greets Bhagavān Śiva with these words:

Īśānāya śmaśānāya

That is: to Īśāna, to the cremation ground, to the one of great speed, to the one of swift form. The commentary on this stotra explains that Kāśī, the greatest cremation ground (mahāśmaśāna), is the own form of Parameśvara. So the Liṅga Purāṇa shows Kāśī as the direct showing of the true nature (svarūpa) of Parameśvara, and not only as the place where he lives. Kāśī is the eternal śmaśāna where all creation is burnt in the fire of consciousness of Bhagavān Śiva, as a funeral pyre burns the body (Pūrvārdha).

The stotras of the Liṅga Purāṇa also say, as the Agni Purāṇa does, that Kāśī is the Avimukta-kshetra, the field that Bhagavān Śiva never leaves. Those who recite the great stotras of the Liṅga Purāṇa near a Śivālaya reach Kailāsa. Kāśī is also named as one of the Śiva-sthalas found in every dvīpa and every mountain (Pūrvārdha).

The Nārada Purāṇa

The Uttarardha of the Nārada Purāṇa (Chapters 48–51) gives a long Kāśī Māhātmya, told by the purohita Vāsu to Mohinī. It deals with the Avimukta-kshetra, the sacred liṅgas and tīrthas in the city, and the great power of the Pañcanada tīrtha.

A Vishṇu-kshetra and a Śiva-kshetra (Chapter 48). Vāsu begins: “Kāśī-pura is auspicious and blessed. Śiva lives here, who got this kshetra from Śrī Hari by earnest request. He lives here worshipping Hṛshīkeśa Vishṇu and being praised by all the devas.” So Kāśī is both a Vishṇu-kshetra and a Śiva-kshetra. Even those guilty of brahmahatyā, gohatyā, betrayal of the guru, betrayal of a friend, nyāsa-apahāra (keeping what was left in trust) and nishiddha-karma (forbidden acts) are freed if they die in this kshetra. Those who reach Kāśī through the sukṛta (good deeds) of past lives, and die here honoured among devas and dānavas alike, reach the highest state (paramapada).

The shape of Avimukta (Chapter 48).

• Size: 2.5 yojanas from east to west and half a yojana from north to south. It lies between the river Varaṇā on the north and the river Asī, a dry stream, on the south.
• The three nāḍīs: the Idā, called Saumyā, flows where Keśava lives (the Varaṇā side). The Sushumnā flows through the middle, called Mātodari and also Viśvara. The three together make the cosmic resonance that makes Avimukta so able to give moksha.
• Its special quality: the Avimukta-kshetra has never been left and never will be left, and this is why it is called Avimukta. For moksha it is higher even than Prayāga, because moksha here comes without effort, with no tapas needed.

Even pāpa done within the Avimukta-kshetra becomes puṇya. The dust of Avimukta, carried by the wind, purifies even the worst pāpīs it touches. One who lives in Avimukta and eats only once a day for a month does the equal of the Mahāpāśupata-vrata and passes beyond fear of birth and death.

The Tāraka mantra at death (Chapter 48). At the moment of death, Śrī Rāmacandra himself, the antaryāmin and ātmā of Avimukta, whispers the tāraka-mantra (the nāma-mantra) into the right ear of the dying person. This alone gives moksha, whatever the earlier karma. Dimicaṇḍīśvara and the other dvārapālas (gatekeepers) of the kshetra also whisper this mantra into the ear at the moment of death. Not one person who dies in the Avimukta-kshetra goes to naraka. All receive the grace of Īśvara (Īśvarānugraha) and the highest good (śreyas).

The liṅgas (Chapters 49–50). The Uttarardha lists the chief liṅgas and the fruit of each.

• Maṇikarṇikā tīrtha. The greatest śmaśāna and yoga-pīṭha of Kāśī. Dhūrjaṭi Śiva is always present here. Bathing at Maṇikarṇikā gives the puṇya of the Daśāśvamedha. A lamp offered here (dīpadāna) lights the senses with the light of jñāna. Offering incense (dhūpa-dāna) wins the seat of Rudra. Setting free a four-year-old bull here gives moksha.
• Kṛttivāseśvara. The famous liṅga of Bhagavān Śiva at Kāśī, known by a different name in each yuga: Tryambaka in Kṛtayuga, Kṛttivāsa in Tretā, Maheśvara in Dvāpara and Hastipāleśvara in Kali. Darśana alone destroys the pāpa that tapas cannot destroy. The one who killed a brāhmaṇa is freed through this darśana.
• Avimukteśvara. Rākshasas once seized a Śiva-liṅga and were carrying it away. As they passed this place, a rooster’s crow at dawn frightened them and they fled, leaving the liṅga. Bhagavān Śiva himself had willed that he should not be parted from the Avimukta-kshetra. The devas then named him “Avimukta”, and this name gives moksha to all who hear it.
• Oṃkāreśvara liṅga. It stands near the river Matsyodarī. Bathing in the Matsyodarī-Gaṅgā and taking darśana of Oṃkāreśvara makes the devotee Oṃkāreśvara himself. The three syllables of Oṃkāra match three sacred stations: a-kāra leads to Vishṇu-loka, u-kāra is where Bṛhaspati reached siddhi, and ma-kāra is where the muni Kapila reached siddhi.
• Gopreksheśvara. This is Viśveśvara, who appeared when Bhīshma was here worshipping the Pañcāyatana. Cows that were being burned in a forest fire found shelter here and drank the waters, and the kshetra became the Kapilāhrada. Bhagavān Śiva here is called Vṛshadhvaja.
• Saṃgameśvara. Brahmā set up this liṅga at the saṃgama (meeting) of the Varaṇā and the Gaṅgā. The Kapālamocana event is linked to the moment when the Gaṅgā joined the Matsyodarī. At that sacred meeting, the skull (kapāla) of Bhagavān Śiva fell free.

Nine Caṇḍikās and the Vināyakas (Chapter 50). The Uttarardha names nine Caṇḍikās who guard the eight directions and the centre of the Avimukta-kshetra.

These devīs protect the devoted and put obstacles (vighna) in the way of those full of pāpa. The text also lists the Vināyakas to be worshipped on Caturdaśī tithis: Ḍuṇḍi, Gopreksha-Vināyaka, Hasti-Vināyaka, Sindūrya and others. The prescribed offering is modakas.

The Pañcanada tīrtha (Chapter 51). The Uttarardha’s most special teaching is on the Pañcanada tīrtha, the meeting of five sacred rivers within Kāśī. The five rivers are Kiraṇā, Dhūta (Dhūtapāpa), Sarasvatī, Gaṅgā and Yamunā. Bathing at the Pañcanada:

• breaks through the brahmāṇḍa-maṇḍapa (the shell of the cosmic egg), the rarest of all spiritual gains;
• equals bathing at Prayāga in the month of Māgha;
• gives, even in a single drop of Pañcanada water offered in pitṛ-tarpaṇa, support to the ancestors for as many years as the number of tila (sesame seeds) given;
• frees ancestors who are in hard yonis (births) when a descendant does śrāddha at the Pañcanada;
• gives sons even to a barren woman who bathes at the Pañcanada for one year while worshipping Maṅgalagaurī.

Bindusarovara, a lake within Kāśī, was raised to the rank of Pañcanada by being bathed with 108 Pañcāmṛta-kalaśas. Five sips (kucchā) of Pañcanada water give complete purification.

The Uttarardha teaches that in each yuga a different tīrtha was the great purifier. In Kṛtayuga it was Dharmanada, in Tretāyuga Dhūtapātaka, in Dvāpara Bindutīrtha and in Kali Pañcanada. So Pañcanada is the highest tīrtha of the present age within Kāśī.

The phalaśruti (Chapter 51). The Uttarardha ends with a full phalaśruti. Even one who killed a brāhmaṇa, one who drank liquor (madhu-pāyī), one who stole gold (svarṇa-cora) and one who lay with the guru’s wife (guru-talpa-gata) are all purified by hearing this Avimukta-māhātmya. A brāhmaṇa who hears it becomes a master of the Veda (Veda-pāraga). A kshatriya wins in battle. A vaiśya becomes rich. A śūdra reaches the company of the devotees of Vishṇu. One who reads or hears this māhātmya obtains the fruit of all yajñas and all tīrthas.

The text says this māhātmya may be given only to devotees of Vishṇu, devotees of Śiva, devotees of the Jagajjananī, devotees of Sūrya, devotees of Vināyaka, and those who serve their guru with devotion. Giving it to the deceitful, to critics, or to those who hate the cow, the brāhmaṇa or the guru brings destruction on the teacher himself.

The Vāmana Purāṇa

The Vāmana Purāṇa (Chapters 2, 3, 16, 57, 60 and 63) adds more to the account of Vārāṇasī. There Pulastya Maharshi tells Nārada Maharshi that Vārāṇasī is the Hari-kshetra, the holy kshetra of Bhagavān Vishṇu that lies between the rivers Varaṇā and Asī. In it Bhagavān Śiva was freed of Brahmahatyā and of Brahmā‘s skull; Sūrya, falling in the fire of Bhagavān Śiva’s eye, was raised up again and named Lola; Prahlāda bathed in its two rivers; and Maheśvara made known in it the Sarva-pāpa-mocana stava.

How Bhagavān Śiva came to Vārāṇasī (Chapters 2–3). The account of Kapālamocana is in Chapters 2 and 3. Pulastya tells it to explain why Daksha did not invite Bhagavān Śiva to his yajña: Bhagavān Śiva was Kapālī, the one with a skull in his hand. At the beginning of creation ahaṅkāra (the sense of “I”) took hold of Brahmā and Rudra, and Brahmā’s fifth face spoke words of scorn to Bhagavān Śiva. Bhagavān Śiva nipped off that fifth face with the tip of his fingernail, and the skull stuck fast to his left palm. After Bhagavān Śiva cut off the fifth head of Brahmā in the quarrel at the beginning of creation, he wandered as the Kapālī (skull-bearer) through all the tīrthas of Bhārata. Brahmahatyā, dark as a mountain of collyrium, with red hair and a dreadful face, came to him and said, “Trilocana, I am Brahmahatyā; accept me,” and entered his body. Bhagavān Śiva went to Badarikāśrama, but Nara and Nārāyaṇa, the sons of Dharma, were not there. He went to bathe in the Yamunā, and the Kālindī dried up as he came; the river Plakshajā too was dry. He bathed in the waters of Pushkarāraṇya, Magadhāraṇya and Saindhavāraṇya and in the tīrthas of Dharmāraṇya and Naimiśāraṇya, and in many rivers, kshetras, āśramas and temples he performed pūjā and practised yoga. None of them could dissolve the brahmahatyā.

Bhagavān Vishṇu’s word at Kurujāṅgala (Chapter 3). In the land of Kurujāṅgala Bhagavān Śiva had darśana of Bhagavān Vishṇu as Garuḍadhvaja, the lotus-eyed Puṇḍarīkāksha, holding the śaṅkha, the cakra and the gadā. With joined palms he praised him in a stotra as Vāsudeva, Adhokshaja, Janārdana, Acyuta, Mādhava and Lakshmīpati, and as Tīrtha-svarūpa, the one whose form is the tīrtha, and asked to be made pure and saved from the flame of Brahmahatyā. Bhagavān Vishṇu sent him to Vārāṇasī with these words:

“East of here, in the Prayāga kshetra, Yogaśāyī, born of my imperishable aṃśa (portion), dwells for ever. From his right foot flows the river Varaṇā, destroyer of all pāpas and giver of good, and from his left foot flows the river called Asi. These two rivers are holy and revered by the worlds. The kshetra of Yogaśāyī between them is a holy tīrtha that removes all pāpas, the best in the three worlds: in svarga, on earth and in pātāla there is no kshetra like it. There stands the supremely holy and auspicious city of Vārāṇasī, where even bhogīs, those given to enjoyment, attain laya (absorption) in you.”

Bhagavān Vishṇu’s praise of the city (Chapter 3). Then Bhagavān Vishṇu described Vārāṇasī. Each line turns on a word with two meanings, so that the only “faults” found in the city belong to things, never to its people:

• The tinkling of the girdles of its graceful women mingles with the Vedas chanted by the best of brāhmaṇas and becomes holy, and the elders hear its sweetness with smiling faces and approve.
• Seeing the crossroads marked with the women’s footprints, painted with lac, the moon wonders whether land-lotuses have walked along the road.
• Its temples touch the sky and block the moonlight by night, and the flags on their spires block the sunlight by day.
• On its walls of moonstone the bees, deceived by the painted lotus-faces of women, hover and then leave them for the real flowers.
• No weariness is seen even in those who lose at games, and no tiredness in the women at water play in the pools of their houses.
• No one seizes another’s house (para-gṛha) except in a game of dice, where a “house” is a square of the board, and no one uses force on the abalā (the weak; also a woman) except in the play of love.
• Only the great elephants know binding; only in elephants is the flow of dāna (ichor; also giving) checked; only in elephants are māna (measure; also pride) and mada (ichor; also arrogance) seen.
• Only the owls love doshā (night; also fault).
• Akulīnatva (not resting on the earth; also low birth) is found only in the stars, and vṛtta-cyuti (falling from the metre; also falling from good conduct) only in prose.
• Only its courtesans, greedy for bhūti (wealth; also sacred ash), sport like Bhagavān Śiva with bhujaṅgas (lovers; also serpents) and candras (moon-shaped necklaces; also moons).

“Īśāna, in that Vārāṇasī, a puṇya-āśrama with such qualities, Lolārka Deva, remover of all pāpas, resides. At the place famed as the Daśāśvamedha kshetra, Keśava is present with my aṃśa. As soon as you go there, best of devas, you will be freed of pāpa.”

Freed at Vārāṇasī, and the Kapālamocana lake (Chapter 3). Bhagavān Śiva, Vṛshadhvaja, bowed his head to Garuḍadhvaja and went swiftly to the kshetra of Vārāṇasī. He had darśana of the city and its holy tīrthas, bathed in them, saw Daśāśvamedha and Bhagavān Lolārka, and was freed from all pāpas. Yet the skull did not leave his palm. He went back to Keśava, bowed, and said: “Hṛshīkeśa, by your grace Brahmahatyā has gone, but this skull does not leave my palm. What is the reason?” Bhagavān Vishṇu answered: “Rudra, hear the means of release from the skull. Here before me is a divine lake full of lotuses and water-lilies, a supremely holy tīrtha served by divine gandharvas. As soon as you bathe in it, the skull will be released. For that reason this tīrtha will be famed as the Kapālamocana kshetra, and you as Kapālī.” Maheśvara bathed in that tīrtha according to vidhi, and the skull of Brahmā fell from his palm. Through the grace of Bhagavān Keśava that place became the holy tīrtha named Kapālamocana. This is how the Kapālamocana tīrtha was made.

Sūrya at Vārāṇasī: Lolārka (Chapter 16). Chapter 16 tells more of the sacred geography of Vārāṇasī. The Lolārka tīrtha is told of in connection with Bhagavān Śiva’s restoring of Sūrya, after Bhagavān Śiva had burned him for destroying the city of the rākshasas who had followed dharma. The rākshasa king Sukeśī had heard the ancient dharma from the munis and commanded his people to keep its thirteen limbs: ahiṃsā, truth, not stealing, brahmacarya, freedom from pride, purity, restraint of the senses, dāna, compassion, patience, sweet and auspicious speech, eagerness in good deeds, and good conduct. The light of their dharma made their city in the sky shine like the moon by day and like the sun by night, so that the lotuses opened at night, the owls came out by day and people bathed and did japa in the dark. Sūrya saw that the rākshasas had overrun the three worlds through their dharma, and with fiery glances he flooded their city, and it fell from the sky like a graha whose puṇya is spent. Sukeśī cried out, “O Bhava, namaskāra to you! O Śarva, namaskāra to you!”, and the Cāraṇas in the sky cried, “Alas, this devotee of Maheśvara is falling!” Tryambaka Mahādeva opened his third eye and looked keenly at Sūrya, and at the mere touch of that fire Sūrya fell from the sky like a stone from a sling.

As he fell, the ṛshis came to him and said: “If you wish for your good, go and fall in Hari’s kshetra on the earth.” Sūrya asked where it was, and the maharshis answered: “Hear of the kshetra that is now dear to Śrī Hari and will in the future become dear to Śiva. That holy Hari-kshetra, which begins at Yogaśāyī and reaches as far as the darśana of Keśava, is the city of Vārāṇasī.” Burning in the flames of Bhagavān Śiva’s eye, Sūrya fell in the land between the Varaṇā and the Asī. He fell into the Asī, rolled on and sank into the waters of the Varaṇā, and again and again, from the Varaṇā to the Asī and from the Asī to the Varaṇā, he rolled like a wheel of fire, wetting his burning body in their waters.

The ṛshis, yakshas, rākshasas, nāgas, vidyādharas, apsarās, birds, bhūtas and pretas went together to Brahmaloka to tell Brahmā. Brahmā went with the hosts of devas to Mount Mandara, the abode of Bhagavān Śiva, made Śūlapāṇi Mahādeva gracious, and brought him to the city of Vārāṇasī to protect Bhāskara. Bhagavān Śiva touched with his hand Sūrya, who was rolling this way and that in the heat of the flames, gave him the name Lola, “the rolling one”, and seated him on the ratha. The place in Vārāṇasī where Sūrya was restored became Lolārka, sacred to the pūjā of Sūrya in the city. That place is known in Vārāṇasī today as the Lolārka kuṇḍa. Brahmā then set Sukeśī again in the sky with his city and his kinsfolk, embraced Śaṅkara, bowed to Bhagavān Vishṇu, and returned to his own Vairāja abode. So, Pulastya says, the compassionate Bhagavān Śiva raised Sūrya up from the earth and made him shine again.

Prahlāda at Vārāṇasī (Chapter 57). In the tīrthayātrā of Prahlāda, the great bhāgavata kept a fast for the whole month of Māgha at Prayāga and from there went to Vārāṇasī. He bathed separately in the rivers Asī and Varaṇā, which take away all pāpa, and worshipped the pitṛ-devatās. He worshipped Avimukteśvara and Mādhava, went round the city in pradakshiṇa, served Lolārka Deva, and then went on to Madhuvana. Pulastya closes the account of the yātrā with its phalaśruti: a man who sings it, hears it or gives it to others is freed from all pāpas.

The Sarva-pāpa-mocana stava (Chapter 60). The Sarva-pāpa-mocana stava, “the stava that frees from all pāpa“, is a long stotra of the names of Bhagavān Vishṇu spoken by Tripurāntaka. Pulastya says that Maheśvara made it known in the Vārāṇasī kshetra, and that Rudra bathed in the Sitodaka tīrtha, went before Keśava and became free of pāpa. The man who reads this stotra with śraddhā is freed from pāpa, attains śānti and becomes worthy of pūjā even by the renowned devas.

Yogaśāyī at Prayāga (Chapter 63). When Bhagavān Vāmana named to Bharadvāja Maharshi the places of his forms, he named Yogaśāyī as his form at Prayāga, and Mahāhaṃsa and Vaṭeśvara there too.

The Śiva Purāṇa

The Śiva Purāṇa (Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapters 22–23) gives the teaching of the tārakabrahma upadeśa. Bhagavān Śiva himself whispers the mantra that gives moksha (tārakabrahma) into the ear of every being who dies within the boundaries of Kāśī. This direct teaching dissolves all gathered karma and places the jīva directly in moksha, whatever the karma, conduct, jāti or spiritual practice of the dying person in life. The kind of moksha given is usually called sāyujya, complete union with Bhagavān Śiva. Death at Kāśī gives the same moksha as lifetimes of spiritual practice.

The teaching of the Avimukta-kshetra and of the tārakabrahma upadeśa is the highest sign of the unconditional grace of Bhagavān Śiva. It is set into the geography of creation so that it reaches even those who cannot come to Bhagavān Śiva by their own effort.

The tīrthas of Kāśī in the Śiva Purāṇa (Chapter 22).

• Maṇikarṇikā Ghāṭ. The most sacred cremation ghāṭ of Kāśī and of all Bhārata. It is named for the earring (maṇikarṇikā) of Bhagavān Śiva or of Satī that fell here. Bodies burned at Maṇikarṇikā receive the tārakabrahma directly. The fire at Maṇikarṇikā never goes out.
• Daśāśvamedha Ghāṭ. Ten aśvamedha yajñas were done here, by Brahmā or by king Divodāsa. Bathing here equals doing ten aśvamedha yajñas.
• Viśvanātha Temple. The central shrine of Viśveśvara, which holds the seventh Jyotirliṅga.

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa: Divodāsa and Avimukta

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa (Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 67) tells how Kāśī was for a time empty, and how it was given back.

Nikuṃbha’s curse. Nikuṃbha was a yaksha chief linked with Kāśī, whose shrine stood in the city. During the rule of Divodāsa, king of Kāśī, the shrine of Nikuṃbha was removed. Nikuṃbha, in anger, pronounced a śāpa (curse) on Kāśī: all beings living in the city would be driven out, and the city would lie empty, a sacred place without worshippers.

Divodāsa’s rule of an empty Kāśī. After the śāpa of Nikuṃbha, all the people of Kāśī were driven away. Bhagavān Śiva, who had vowed to live in Kāśī for ever as its antaryāmin, was forced by the śāpa to leave for a time. He lived instead on Mandara mountain, outside the city. In this time Divodāsa ruled over a Kāśī emptied of its divine dwellers.

The shrine of Gaṇeśa. Among the shrines disturbed in this time was a shrine of Gaṇeśa within the Avimukta-kshetra. The Purāṇa says this shrine was removed from the kshetra during the rule of Divodāsa.

The restoration of Avimukta. Through the śaraṇāgati (taking refuge) and tapas of his devotees, Bhagavān Śiva took back Kāśī. The Avimukta-kshetra was restored to its sacred state, all those driven out came back, and the city again became the eternal home of Śiva and Vishṇu. The son of Divodāsa was Pratardana, who carried on the line.

The Skanda Purāṇa: Kāśī Khaṇḍa

The Kāśī Khaṇḍa is the longest and most authoritative text given wholly to the glory of Kāśī. Its Poorvārdha (the first 50 chapters) covers the whole sacred history, theology and layout of the Avimukta-kshetra.

Origin of Avimukta and Maṇikarṇikā (Chapter 26). According to the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, Bhagavān Śiva made the Avimukta-kshetra before the universe existed, as his pleasure-ground before creation. At the same time he made Śakti and named the kshetra Ānandavana, the Forest of Bliss. Then he made Vishṇu from his left side. Vishṇu dug the Cakrapushkariṇī pond with his discus (cakra) and did tapas on its banks for fifty thousand years. Bhagavān Śiva came to see him and shook his head in approval. His jewelled earring (maṇikarṇikā) fell into the pond. So this tīrtha was named Maṇikarṇikā. Vishṇu also named the kshetra “Kāśī”, for its unspeakable brilliance. He asked that all beings, from Brahmā down to a blade of grass, reach moksha here.

Kālabhairava as koṭvāl of Kāśī (Chapter 31). The Kāśī Khaṇḍa tells its own account of Kālabhairava. Brahmā on Meru claims to be supreme. The four Vedas speak for Bhagavān Śiva. The fifth head of Brahmā answers the Vedas with pride. Bhagavān Śiva makes Kālabhairava, who cuts off the fifth head. Brahmahatyā clings to Kālabhairava, and he wanders through all the worlds. The moment he enters Kāśī, Brahmahatyā cries out and sinks into Pātāla, and the skull of Brahmā falls from his hand. Kālabhairava sets himself for ever at the Kapālamocana tīrtha as the koṭvāl (chief guardian and keeper of order) of Kāśī. He eats the pāpa of devotees and protects the righteous who live there. He is to be worshipped on Kṛshṇa Ashṭamī, on Caturdaśī, on Sundays and on Tuesdays.

Gaṅgā Māhātmya and the Sahasranāma (Chapters 27–29). The Kāśī Khaṇḍa gives these chapters to the great importance of the Gaṅgā for the city. She is the own Śakti of Bhagavān Śiva in the form of water. In Kaliyuga she alone is the means of moksha. All tīrthas, all Vedas and all devas live in subtle form within her waters. Chapter 29 holds the full Gaṅgā Sahasranāma, the thousand names of the Gaṅgā.

Divodāsa‘s rule and the Āditya shrines (Chapters 43–50). These chapters tell of the fully righteous rule of Divodāsa over Kāśī while Bhagavān Śiva was away at Mandara. In Chapter 44 Bhagavān Śiva grieves at the parting, in one of the most tender passages of the Purāṇas. All the agents of Bhagavān Śiva sent to remove Divodāsa (Gaṇeśa, Skanda, the sixty-four Yoginīs and Sūrya) stayed on in Kāśī as lasting residents and set up sacred shrines: Lolārka, Uttarārka, Sāmbāditya, Draupadāditya, Mayūkhāditya and Khakholkāditya.

The seven moksha-purīs and the tīrtha discourse (Chapters 6–7). These chapters hold Agastya‘s talk to Lopāmudrā on the nature of tīrthas: Prayāga as Tīrtharāja (king of tīrthas), the seven moksha-purīs, and the mānasa (inner) tīrthas. These are truth (satya), forgiveness (kshamā), self-control (dama), kindness (dayā), straightness (ārjava), giving (dāna), calm (śama), contentment (santosha), brahmacarya, knowledge (jñāna), tapas and purity of mind (mano-śuddhi).

The Skanda Purāṇa: Kāśī Khaṇḍa, Uttarārdha (Chapters 51–100)

The Uttarārdha of the Kāśī Khaṇḍa (Chapters 51–100) carries the sacred history of Kāśī on from the reign of Divodāsa to the triumphant return of Bhagavān Śiva and his last declaration of the greatness of the Avimukta-kshetra.

The departure of Divodāsa (Chapters 56–58). After Gaṇeśa, Skanda, the sixty-four Yoginīs and Sūrya had all stayed in Kāśī as lasting residents, Gaṇeśa was sent again, this time disguised as an old brāhmaṇa astrologer. With his māyā he spread fear among the citizens by telling of bad dreams and giving ill astrological signs, so that many left. He also won the trust of the palace through the queen Līlāvatī, and told King Divodāsa that a wise brāhmaṇa would come from the north on the eighteenth day.

At the same time Vishṇu entered Kāśī. He set up the Pādodaka Tīrtha at the meeting of the Varaṇā and the Gaṅgā, and set up the image of Ādikeśava. Then he went partly outside the city to the north, to Dharmakshetra, taking the form of a Buddhist teacher named Puṇyakīrti. In this disguise Vishṇu quietly weakened the Vedic order of the city. On the eighteenth day Vishṇu as Puṇyakīrti came to Divodāsa as the promised brāhmaṇa. He praised him greatly and gently pointed out his one fault: he had kept Viśveśvara away from Kāśī. He told the king to set up a Liṅga as atonement.

Divodāsa set up the Dīvodāseśvara Liṅga at Bhūpālaśrī, spending all the wealth of his victories. On the seventh day after that, a divine aerial chariot came down from svarga. The attendants of Bhagavān Śiva dressed Divodāsa with the marks of Bhagavān Śiva himself: three eyes, a blue throat, serpent ornaments and a crescent moon. He was taken to the world of Bhagavān Śiva.

Ḍhuṇḍhi Vināyaka and the fifty-six Vināyakas (Chapter 57). On his return to Kāśī, Bhagavān Śiva praised Gaṇeśa in public with the Sarvasaṃpatkara stotra and named him Ḍhuṇḍhi, “one who searches for what his devotees need and gives it”. He said: “One who bows to Ḍhuṇḍhi first and then to me, I whisper the Tāraka mantra into his ear at death.” Bhagavān Śiva named fifty-six Vināyakas, placed by Gaṇeśa in seven rings around the Viśvanātha temple as eternal guardians of the Avimukta-kshetra.

The sixty-eight holy places gathered in Kāśī (Chapter 69). Nandī told Bhagavān Śiva that sixty-eight great shrines from all over the universe had gathered in Kāśī to live there for good. Among them were Sthāṇu from Kurukshetra, Mahākāla from Ujjayinī, Paśupati from Nepāla, Śaśibhūshaṇa from Prabhāsa, Mahābala from Gokarṇa, Lakulīśvara from Kāyārohaṇa, and Kṛttivāsas from Ekāmbara (Kāñcī). The Kāśī Khaṇḍa teaches that bathing at any of these gathered tīrthas in Kāśī gives more puṇya than at the original tīrtha itself.

The protecting devīs of Kāśī (Chapter 70). Nandī set up Viśālākshī and more than forty other protecting devīs at fixed places throughout Kāśī. Among them were Lalitā at Lalitā Ghāṭa, Viśvabhujā in front of Viśālākshī, Aindrī, Kaumārī, Māheśvarī, Narasiṃhī, Brāhmī, Nārāyaṇī, Virūpākshī, Bhīmacaṇḍī at the northern gate, Svapneśvarī, and Durgā as the southern guardian. Each had a set place, work and festival day.

Durgā and the origin of her name (Chapters 71–72). The daitya Durgāsura, born of Ruru and made safe against humans, conquered all three worlds. Kālarātri, the messenger of Devī Bhavānī, killed thirty thousand daityas with her sound HŪṂ. In the battle that followed, Devī Bhavānī made nine koṭi Śaktis from her body. She fought Durgāsura in his elephant, buffalo and thousand-armed forms, and pierced him through the heart with a great arrow. The devas sang the Vajrapañjara kavaca in her praise. She then said: “From today my name will be Durgā.” She was set up as the lasting southern guardian of Kāśī.

The fourteen supreme liṅgas. The Uttarārdha names fourteen supreme liṅgas as the chief forms of Bhagavān Śiva in the Mukti-kshetra:

1. Viśveśvara (highest of all)
2. Oṃkāreśvara, also called Praṇaveśvara
3. Trilocana, also called Trivishṭapa
4. Kṛttivāseśvara
5. Vīreśvara
6. Daksheśvara
7. Dharmeśvara
8. Kāmeśvara
9. Prahasiteśvara
10. Kedāreśvara
11. Viśvakarmeśvara
12. Jyeshṭheśvara
13. Amṛteśvara
14. Vyāseśvara

The Pañcatīrthī circuit. These are the five highest tīrthas of Kāśī. Going to all five on pilgrimage destroys all gathered karma.

1. The meeting of the Asī and the Gaṅgā (in the south)
2. Daśāśvamedha Ghāṭa
3. Pādodaka (the meeting of the Varaṇā and the Gaṅgā, near Ādikeśava)
4. Pañcanada (the meeting of five rivers)
5. Maṇikarṇikā

Vyāsa‘s teaching on conduct in Kāśī (Chapters 95–96). Vyāsa came to Ādikeśava, declared the greatness of Hari, and was sent on to Kāśī by the ṛshis. When Nandī made Vyāsa’s arm stiff because he came to the Jñānavāpī with pride, Vishṇu gave back his voice, and Vyāsa composed the eight-verse Vyāsāshṭaka. The Vyāseśvara Liṅga was set up. Bhagavān Śiva then tested Devī Pārvatī by coming as a beggar brāhmaṇa. She appeared as a housewife, fed ten thousand disciples, and taught Vyāsa the highest dharma of those who live in Kāśī: complete service to Bhagavān Śiva and to his city above all else.

Śiva’s return and crowning (Chapter 98). On Kārttika Śukla Prathama, Bhagavān Śiva came down from Mandara with Devī Pārvatī, with all the devas in a great procession: Vishṇu, Brahmā, Viśvakarmā, Gaṇeśa, Nandī and the whole assembly of devas. Brahmā did the abhisheka (royal anointing) of Bhagavān Śiva as the sovereign lord of Kāśī. Vishṇu asked: “Let me not be far removed from your feet.” Bhagavān Śiva granted: “Stay for ever near me here. If someone comes to me without first pleasing you, his wish will not be fulfilled through me.” For this reason the nearness of Bindumādhava to Viśveśvara is needed for the full pilgrimage of Kāśī.

The supremacy of Viśveśvara: the three essentials (Chapter 99). In the last chapter, Bhagavān Śiva sat in the Śṛṅgāra Maṇḍapa, with Brahmā on his right and Vishṇu on his left. He raised his right hand and showed the Viśveśvara Liṅga to all who had gathered. In forty-eight verses he declared the fruit of every act of pūjā given to this self-manifested (svayambhū) Liṅga. Hearing about it destroys the pāpa of one birth. Touching it gives the puṇya of a thousand Rājasūyas. Offering a single camphor-wick lamp once makes one three-eyed. His highest declaration:

“Lifting up my hand, I say again and again: in this world that has the three Vedas, only three things are essential: the Viśveśa Liṅga, the water of Maṇikarṇikā, and the city of Kāśī. This is the truth, a threefold truth.”

After saying this before all the devas, Bhagavān Śiva himself did the pūjā of the Viśveśvara Liṅga and merged into it.

The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa: Krīḍā Khaṇḍa

The Krīḍā Khaṇḍa of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa (Chapters 38–53) gives Kāśī a Kṛtayuga side to its sacred history. It shows the city as the place of Gaṇeśa‘s own home in Kṛtayuga, and the place where the lasting guarding circle of the Shaṭpañcāśat Vināyakas was set up.

Mahotkaṭa lives in Kāśī (Chapter 38). King Kāśirāja, who had received Kāśī as his kingdom, asked Mahotkaṭa (the Kṛtayuga avatāra of Gaṇeśa) to live there for good. Mahotkaṭa agreed and lived in Kāśī as its divine protector during Kṛtayuga. His presence raised the already supreme holiness of the city.

Varada Vināyaka and Gaṇeśatīrtha (Chapters 38–39). During Mahotkaṭa’s stay, a form of Varada Vināyaka was set up within the sacred ground of Kāśī. The place linked with the divine presence of Mahotkaṭa became known as the Gaṇeśatīrtha, one of the sacred bathing places of Kāśī.

The Shaṭpañcāśat Vināyakas (Chapters 39–43). When the asura Dairāsada, son of Bhasmāsura, attacked Kāśī, Mahotkaṭa made fifty-six forms from his own tejas and placed them in seven rings of eight around the city. This made the lasting guarding circle called the Shaṭpañcāśat Vināyakas. At the centre of all seven rings he set up Ḍhuṇḍhirāja as the highest guardian of Kāśī. This Kṛtayuga setting-up is the origin of the fifty-six Vināyakas whom the Kāśī Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa later describes as honoured by Bhagavān Śiva on his return to the city.

Kāśirāja’s journey through the worlds (Chapters 49–53). After many years of Mahotkaṭa’s stay in Kāśī, Kāśirāja was taken by the gaṇas Pramoda and Āmoda on a journey through all the lokas. He went from the world of bhūtas and pretas through Amarāvatī, the realm of Yama, Vaikuṇṭha and Kailāsa, and at last to Svānandabhuvana, the own world of Gaṇeśa beyond all, in the Ikshusāgara. Kāśirāja stayed there near Gaṇeśa for koṭi kalpas.

The Mahābhārata: the corpse-test and Saṃvarta

The Aśvamedhika Parva (Chapter 6) holds a Kāśī episode within the Saṃvarta-Maruttīya ākhyāna. Nārada tells King Marutta that the hidden ṛshi Saṃvarta is wandering through Vārāṇasī in the dress of a madman, seeking darśana of Maheśvara in his own way. He can be known by one test. Place a corpse (śava) at the gate of the city and watch who turns back from it. Whoever reaches that spot and turns away is Saṃvarta, for he will not step past a corpse. Marutta did exactly this, knew Saṃvarta at the city gate, and followed him to win him as his yājaka (priest for the yajña).

A gloss within the text explains the deeper reason, which bears on the māhātmya of Kāśī. To see a śava at the edge of the city is itself a kind of darśana of Maheśvara, since it is Rudra who whispers the tāraka-brahma to every being at the moment the prāṇa leaves the body, above all at Kāśī, the Avimukta-kshetra. The corpse stands in some way for the presence of Maheśvara himself, and Saṃvarta’s refusal to pass it shows the respect due to that presence.

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa tells a closely related version of this corpse-test, with Saṃvarta hiding at Vārāṇasī from a king named Marutta (Marutt), and its own outcome.

Per Bhāgavata Purāṇa

Among the holiest places

Nārada, teaching Yudhishṭhira the dharma of the householder, names the places that are holiest: Pushkara and the other lakes, the kshetras where maharshis and siddhas lived, Kurukshetra, Gayā, Prayāga and Pulaha‘s āśrama at Sālagrāma; Naimishāraṇya, the Phālguna kshetra, Setubandha, Prabhāsa, Dvārakā, Kāśī, Mathurā, Pampā-saras and Bindu-saras; Badarikāśrama, the Alakanandā, Citrakūṭa and the āśramas of Sītā and Rāma, and the great mountains. Every place where the arcā-mūrti of Śrī Hari is worshipped is holiest. One who seeks his welfare should go to these places again and again, for dharma done in them gives a thousand times more fruit.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 7, Chapter 14

Sūta, closing the Purāṇa, tells the maharshis: “As Gaṅgā is among rivers, as Śrī Hari is among devatās, as Śiva is among the bhaktas of Vishṇu, so is this Śrīmad Bhāgavata among the Purāṇas. As Kāśī surely is among all kshetras, so is the Śrīmad Bhāgavata the best of all Purāṇas.”

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapter 13

When the Yogamāyā of Bhagavān Śrī Hari rose from Kaṃsa‘s hands and spoke to him from the sky, she became renowned on earth in different places under different names; the Telugu gives, as an example in brackets, Viśālākshī at Kāśī. In another bracket the Telugu glosses Sāndīpani, the guru of Balarāma and Kṛshṇa at Avantī, as one born in Kāśī and taught in Kāśī, beside the reading that he was born in the Kāśyapa gotra.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapters 4, 45

The kingdom of Kāśī

Once there was no rain in the Kāśī country. Then the king of Kāśī gave his daughter Gāndinī in marriage to Śvaphalka, the father of Akrūra, who had come there, and the deva rained. Bhīshma carried off by force from their svayaṃvara Ambikā and Ambālikā, the daughters of the king of Kāśi, and they became the wives of Vicitravīrya. Rukmiṇī, speaking to Śrī Kṛshṇa, recalls that Ambā, the daughter of the king of Kāśi, was carried off by Bhīshma, though her mind was on Śālva. At the great yajña of Vasudeva at Samantapañcaka, Vasudeva honoured with abundant gifts his kinsmen and the kings of Vidarbha, Kosala, Kuru, Kāśi, Kekaya and Sṛñjaya.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 22; Skandha 10, Chapters 57, 60, 84

The burning of Kāśī

Nārada, praising Śrī Kṛshṇa after the slaying of Keśī, foretold among his coming deeds that he would kill Pauṇḍraka and then burn the city of Kāśī.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 37

Śuka tells Parīkshit how it came to pass. Pauṇḍraka, lord of Karūsha, who called himself Vāsudeva, sent a boastful message to Dvārakā, and Śrī Kṛshṇa mounted his chariot and went to Kāśī. Pauṇḍraka came out with two akshauhiṇīs, and his friend the king of Kāśī followed with three akshauhiṇīs, guarding him from behind. Pauṇḍraka wore false emblems of Śrī Kṛshṇa, and Śrī Kṛshṇa laughed aloud to see him dressed like an actor on a stage. As the fire of pralaya torments all beings, so Śrī Kṛshṇa afflicted the army of Pauṇḍraka and the king of Kāśī with gadā, sword, cakra and arrows. He cut off Pauṇḍraka’s head with the cakra, and with feathered arrows he struck the head of the king of Kāśī from its trunk and made it fall in the city of Kāśī, as the wind blows down a lotus bud. Because Pauṇḍraka had thought of Śrī Kṛshṇa at all times, his bonds were destroyed, he took on Śrī Kṛshṇa’s own form and merged into him.

The head of the king of Kāśī, with its kuṇḍalas, fell at the gate of the palace, and the people wondered whose it was. When they knew it, his wives, sons, kinsmen and the citizens cried aloud: “Alas, we are slain! O king, our master!” His son Sudakshiṇa performed his father’s funeral rites and resolved to slay his father’s slayer. With his purohita he worshipped Maheśvara in the kshetra of Kāśī with one-pointed mind, and Bhagavān Śiva, pleased, offered him a vara. He asked for a means to slay his father’s slayer. Bhagavān Śiva told him to worship the Dakshiṇāgni, who has the form of the ṛtvik, with the brāhmaṇas by the abhicāra rite; that Agni, surrounded by the Pramatha gaṇas, would fulfil his resolve if it were sent against one who is not devoted to brāhmaṇas. Sudakshiṇa sent it against Śrī Kṛshṇa.

A terrible Agni rose from the fire-pit, with hair and beard like heated copper, flaming brands spitting from his eyes, fangs and a triśūla, and with feet as long as palmyra trees he ran towards Dvārakā, burning the directions. Śrī Kṛshṇa, playing dice in the sabhā, told his frightened people not to fear, and sent the Sudarśana cakra, shining like a crore of suns, against that destroying devatā of Maheśvara. Struck by Sudarśana, the abhicāra fire turned back, came round to the city of Kāśī and burned Sudakshiṇa and his host of ṛtviks, who had created it. The cakra entered the city right behind the kṛtyā. Kāśī was then a city of close-set vedikās, sabhās, temples, bazaars, gopuras, bastions, cattle-sheds, treasuries, elephants, horses, chariots and annakshetras, houses where food is given. Sudarśana burned the whole city of Kāśī and came back to Śrī Kṛshṇa.

The Bhāgavata gives the phalaśruti: whoever, with a one-pointed mind, tells or hears this deed of valour of Śrī Kṛshṇa is freed from all his pāpas without remainder.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 66

Per Bhavishya Purāṇa

One of the seven purīs

The Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells that Bhārata has seven sacred purīs, Ayodhyā, Mathurā, Kāśī and the rest, and that in the time it describes hiṃsā had begun even in them. In the Madhyama Parva, a dweller of Kāśī who leaves Kāśī and lives elsewhere for many days is counted a kadarya (miser), among the kinds of wrongdoers.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 1, Chapter 5; Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 1, Chapters 4–5

Kāśī, the eternal Brahman

Bhagavān Vishṇu tells Bopadeva, in the Pratisarga Parva, of the time when the kingdom had passed to the Bauddhas. Bhagavān Śiva, with Devī Pārvatī, saw an excellent ground in Kāśī and settled there. He bowed joyfully and said: “O Saccidānanda, O Vibhu, giver of joy to the world, victory to you!” Devī Pārvatī asked who the other devatā equal to him was, to whom he had bowed. Bhagavān Śiva said: “Mahādevī, this Kāśī is a most sacred kshetra. It is itself the eternal Brahman, and is fit to be bowed to. Here I will perform the saptāha-yajña.” To protect the place of the yajña he stationed Caṇḍīśa, Gaṇeśa, Nandī and the Guhyakas. Settled in dhyāna, he told the Bhāgavatī Kathā to Devī Pārvatī for seven days.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapter 32

Satyanārāyaṇa at Kāśī

The Pratisarga Parva tells that when Nārada went to spread the Satyadeva vrata on the earth, Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa withdrew from sight and came to Kāśīpurī. In that world-famous city lived Śatānanda, an excellent learned brāhmaṇa devoted to the Vishṇu vrata, a poor gṛhastha with wife and sons who lived by bhikshā. On the road he saw an old brāhmaṇa, who was Bhagavān Hari himself.

King Candracūḍa, defeated in battle by the mlecchas, left his kingdom and wandered under the pretext of tīrthāṭana until he reached Kāśīpurī. There he saw the pūjā of Satyanārāyaṇa going on in every house, and the city as splendid and prosperous as Dvārakā. He heard of Śatānanda’s pūjā, by following which all had become rich in śīla and dharma, and he at once performed the pūjā there in Kāśī. Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa, pleased, gave him in the night a sword that destroys enemies. Woodcutters too came to Kāśīpurī to sell wood, and one of them, very thirsty, went to the āśrama of the same brāhmaṇa.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapters 24–27

Annapūrṇā, queen of Kāśī

The Pratisarga Parva tells, in the māhātmya of the Ādi Carita of the Śrī Durgāsaptaśatī, that a dvija came to Kāśī, worshipped Mahādevī Annapūrṇā, whom munis and devas worship, and praised her with this verse:

नित्यानन्दकरी पराभयकरी सौन्दर्यरत्नाकरी निर्धूताखिलपापपावनकरी काशीपुराधीश्वरी।

नानालोककरी महाभयहरी विश्वम्भरी सुन्दरी विद्यां देहि कृपावलम्बनकरी मातान्नपूर्णेश्वरी ॥

nityānandakarī parābhayakarī saundaryaratnākarī nirdhūtākhilapāpapāvanakarī kāśīpurādhīśvarī |

nānālokakarī mahābhayaharī viśvambharī sundarī vidyāṃ dehi kṛpāvalambanakarī mātānnapūrṇeśvarī ||

Giver of constant joy, giver of supreme fearlessness, ocean of the gems of beauty, who shakes off all pāpa and purifies, queen of the city of Kāśī, maker of many worlds, remover of great fear, bearer of the universe, the beautiful one: give me vidyā, O Mother Annapūrṇeśvarī, you who give the support of your grace.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapter 33

He did japa of this stuti one hundred and eight times, closed his eyes in dhyāna and slept there. In a dream Annapūrṇā Śivā stood before him, gave him the knowledge of the Ṛgveda and withdrew from sight. In the next chapter she is praised again as Annapūrṇeśvarī, ruler of the city of Kāśī, who always gives ānanda.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapters 33–34

Teachers and bhaktas at Kāśī

The Pratisarga Parva tells of many who were born at Kāśī or came to it:

• Patañjali Muni held a śāstrārtha here with Kātyāyana, the Devī-bhakta. It lasted one full year, and Patañjali was defeated (Khaṇḍa 2, Chapter 35).
• Bhagavān Sūrya, born in Kānyakubja in the house of the brāhmaṇa Devala, became famous in Kāśī as Rāmānanda (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 7).
• Bhagavān Sūrya was born in Kāśī, in the house of Vedaśarman of the Dīkshita line, as Bhaṭṭojidīkshita. He worshipped Bhagavān Viśvanātha, and after three years Bhagavān Śaṅkara gave him great jñāna, by which he composed the Siddhāntakaumudī (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 8).
• Bhagavān Sūrya told the devas he would be born in Kāśī as Dhanvantari to free beings from the diseases made by Kali. He was born here in the house of the brāhmaṇa Kalpadatta, took the rājaputra Suśruta as his disciple, and composed the Kalpaveda (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 9).
• Giriśarmā, Bhāratīśa and Nāthaśarmā conquered the scholars, came to Kāśī and became disciples of Śaṅkarācārya. Another brāhmaṇa, wishing tattva-jñāna, came here, bowed to Śaṅkarācārya and became his disciple. Kshetraśarmā, defeated by Śaṅkarācārya, took the vow of brahmacarya and remained in Kāśī in upāsanā of Bhagavān Śaṅkara (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapters 11–12).
• Skandha, Īśvara in form, was born at Kāśī as the son of a daivajña dvija (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 12).
• Bhagavān Kapālī Śiva by his aṃśa was born at Kāśī, not of a womb. He came onto the earth from the Kapālamocana kuṇḍa and became famous as Bhairava, a yati (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 13).
• Hanumān, in a human body as Bālaśarmā, lived in Kāśī at Maṇikarṇikā, became a śishya of Śaṅkarācārya and composed the Tantra-Mantra śāstra (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 13).
• A king gave his kingdom to his son, came to Kāśī and pleased Bhagavān Śiva. After three years Mahādeva appeared from a jyotirliṅga and became famous as Rājarājeśvara (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 15).
• Trilocana, Nāmadeva and Naraśrī came to Kāśī and became disciples of Rāmānanda. Nāmadeva built an excellent white stone ghāṭa here with the fifty lakh mudrās Sikandara gave him (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapters 15–17).
• The child later raised by the weaver Alika was left by his parents in the Vindhya forest of Kāśī (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 17).
• Raidāsa came to Kāśīpurī, defeated Kabīra in debate, was defeated by Śaṅkarācārya, and accepted discipleship under Rāmānanda (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 18).
• Rāmaśarmā of Kāśī, devoted to the pūjā of Bhagavān Śaṅkara, kept vigil alone on Śivarātri at Avimukteśvara with japa of the Pañcākshara. Bhagavān Śaṅkara, pleased, offered him a vara. He asked that the devatā on whom Bhagavān Śiva meditates might dwell in his heart. Bhagavān Śiva smiled and said that he ever meditates on Rāma, Lakshmaṇa and Balabhadra, and Rāmaśarmā became an upāsaka of Bhagavān Rāma (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 19).
• Tulasīśarmā became a greatly detached Vaishṇava poet at Kāśī, in the line of Śrī Rāmānanda (Khaṇḍa 4, Chapters 22–23).

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapter 35; Khaṇḍa 4, Chapters 7–9, 11–13, 15–19, 22–23

The yantra on the royal road

The Pratisarga Parva tells that the mlecchas, taught jyotir-vidyā by the daitya Maya, had yantras made in all seven purīs. Nimbāditya came to Kāśikāpurī with his disciples and saw the mleccha-yantra on the royal road. He reversed his guru’s mantra and stayed there, and the yantra became powerless. All the mlecchas near him became Vaishṇavas, and all the remaining Āryas followed the Vaishṇava path. Śaṅkarācārya, on the path of Bhagavān Śiva, came to Kāśīpurī with his gaṇas at the order of Rāmānuja. He reversed the yantra and all who came under it became Śaivas, with the tripuṇḍra on the forehead, a rudrāksha garland on the neck and the Govinda-mantra in the mouth.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 21

Kings of Kāśī and dwellers of Vārāṇasī

The Bhavishya Purāṇa also gives these:

• Two revered and excellent Kāśī kings were killed by a woman of Ānandāpura, using poison (Brahma Parva, Chapter 8).
• King Sudarśana married the daughter of the king of Kāśī (Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 1, Chapter 1).
• Citraratha of Vidarbha gave his daughter Lalitā in marriage to Mahārāja Cārudharmā, the king of Kāśī, who followed dharma, and she became his chief queen. She lit thousands of lamps daily in the temple of Bhagavān Vishṇu, for in her former birth, as a mouse in that temple, she had let the lamp stay lit, and that puṇya, done without knowing, had raised her so high (Uttara Parva, Chapter 130).
• On the Māghī one should bathe at Vārāṇasī, in the Gaṅgā. Whoever gives tarpaṇa to the pitṛs on this day gains endless fruit and raises the pitṛs (Uttara Parva, Chapter 100).
• In Vārāṇasī lived the vaiśya Dhaneśvara, who honoured devatās and brāhmaṇas (Uttara Parva, Chapter 169).
• Pulastya Maharshi told a king that seven births before he had been a vaiśya in Vārāṇasī, rich, dharmātmā and truthful, who performed Bhuvana-pratishṭhā, and by its power he had held the rank of king for seven births (Uttara Parva, Chapter 191).

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 8; Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 1, Chapter 1; Uttara Parva, Chapters 100, 130, 169, 191

Per Brahma Purāṇa

The kings of Kāśī and the rebuilding of Vārāṇasī

In the line of Kshatravṛddha, the Brahma Purāṇa tells, Dhanvantari, born to Dhanva in his old age after great tapas, became the great king of Kāśī. The Dhanvantari who had arisen before from an aṃśa of the devas was now born from a human aṃśa; he learned Āyurveda from Bharadvāja, healed every disease, divided that śāstra into eight parts and taught it to his disciples. His son was Ketumān, Ketumān’s son Bhīmaratha, and Bhīmaratha’s son Divodāsa, a dhārmika king who ruled the city of Kāśī and is called the lord of Vārāṇasī.

In Divodāsa’s time the rākshasa Kshemaka made Vārāṇasī empty, and by the śāpa of the mahātmā Nikumbha the Kāśī-kshetra had to stay deserted for a thousand years. Before this, Vārāṇasī had been ruled by Bhadraśreṇya. Divodāsa killed his hundred sons, all great archers, won his kingdom and built the city anew on the bank of the Gomatī; Bhadraśreṇya’s son Durdama he spared out of compassion, because he was a child. Divodāsa’s son was Pratardana, whose sons were Vatsa and Bharga, and Vatsa’s son was Alarka, king of Kāśī, devoted to brāhmaṇas and true to his word. By the grace of Lopāmudrā, Alarka stayed young and full of beauty for sixty-six thousand years. At the end of the śāpa, in the last part of his life, he killed the rākshasa Kshemaka and built the beautiful city of Vārāṇasī again.

In the Paurava line, King Janamejaya, the son of Parīkshit, had two sons, Candrāpīḍa and Sūryāpīḍa, by a princess of Kāśī. The first of Candrāpīḍa’s hundred sons, Satyakarṇa, lived in the city of Vārāṇasī; he was valiant, a performer of yajñas and a giver of abundant dakshiṇā.

Once Indra did not rain for three years in the land of the king of Kāśī. The king brought to his kingdom Śvaphalka of the Vṛshṇis, so devoted to dharma that in his realm there was neither disease nor drought, and because Śvaphalka dwelt there, Indra sent rain. Śvaphalka married Gāndinī, the daughter of the lord of Kāśī, who gave a cow to a brāhmaṇa every day.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 11, 13–14

Among the lands and tīrthas

The Purāṇa names Kāśi among the countries of the madhya-deśa (middle land) of Bhārata-varsha. Sāndīpani, the teacher of astras to whom Śrī Kṛshṇa and Balarāma went, was born in the Kāśī-kshetra and lived in Avantī. The Ekāmra-kshetra of Bhagavān Śiva in Utkala, with its crore of liṅgas and eight tīrthas, is called equal to the Kāśī-kshetra, and one who bathes there surely attains moksha.

In the Gautamī Māhātmya the tīrthas of the Gautamī are set beside Vārāṇasī: Jaṭādhara, at the confluence of the rivers Kadrū and Sauparṇikā, is a little holier than Vārāṇasī; Śārdūla tīrtha, west of Abjaka, is called superior to all tīrthas such as Vārāṇasī; and Kuśatarpaṇa excels even Vārāṇasī, with no tīrtha equal to it among moving and unmoving beings.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 27, 41, 194; Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapters 30, 58, 91

Accounts set in Kāśī

Brahmā tells that Kaśyapa Maharshi, on his way to Vārāṇasī long ago, saw a new divine vimāna standing in the sky and heard weeping from a pit below it. Knowing the matter by his tapas, he stood hidden and saw a tapasvin find his own pitṛs hanging in the pit, which was naraka itself, holding on to a single clump of grass; they could be freed only if he married and begot a virtuous son.

In the account of the Ekādaśī prajāgara, one born again by the puṇya of bathing at Pāpapramocana on the Narmadā was born in Vārāṇasī as a foolish brāhmaṇa. Mocking a wandering siddha, he sent word to the apsarā Urvaśī; Urvaśī came to Vārāṇasī in a divine body and bathed in the Matsyodarī tīrtha there, where the brāhmaṇa saw her, and she tested him on the riverbank.

When Bhagavān Vishṇu showed Nārada Maharshi his māyā, Nārada plunged into the water and rose up as Suśīlā, the daughter of the king of Kāśī, who gave her in marriage to Sudharma, prince of Vidarbha; in time a war broke out between the king of Kāśī and Sudharma, and both perished with their sons and grandsons.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 34, 228–229

The burning of Vārāṇasī

Vyāsa tells the munis that Śrī Kṛshṇa, in his avatāra as a man, burned the city of Vārāṇasī. Pauṇḍraka Vāsudeva, persuaded that he was the true Vāsudeva, wore emblems of Vishṇu made of iron and sent a messenger commanding Śrī Kṛshṇa to give up his cakra and his name. Śrī Kṛshṇa laughed and answered in words full of jest that he would indeed release his cakra upon him. Mounting Garuḍa, he went to Pauṇḍraka’s city. The king of Kāśī came with his whole army as Pauṇḍraka’s rear-guard ally. Śrī Kṛshṇa destroyed their army with the fire of the Śārṅga bow, the gadā and the cakra, split Pauṇḍraka with the cakra, and when the king of Kāśī fought him to help his friend, cut off his head with arrows from the Śārṅga and flung it into the city of Kāśī.

The people of the Kāśi capital saw the king’s head fallen there and wondered whose deed it was. The king’s son learned that Vāsudeva had slain him. With the purohita he pleased Viśveśvara, and Bhagavān Śaṅkara, in the great kshetra of Avimukta, told him to ask a vara. He asked for a terrible śakti named Kṛtyā to destroy Śrī Kṛshṇa. Bhagavān Śiva said “So be it,” and at once a great Kṛtyā rose from the dakshiṇāgni (the southern fire) of his agnihotra hall, with a face terrible with flames and hair blazing like fire, crying “Kṛshṇa! Kṛshṇa!”, and went towards Dvāravatī. The people of Dvārakā took refuge in Śrī Kṛshṇa, and he, playing at caturaṅga, as if in play sent the Sudarśana cakra after her.

Shattered and robbed of her power by the cakra, the Kṛtyā fled into Vārāṇasī. The army of the king of Kāśī and an endless army of pramatha-gaṇas came out against the cakra with every śastra and astra. The divine Sudarśana burned that whole army, and then the entire city of Kāśī, with its fourfold army, the king’s servants, the citizens, its forts and storehouses, the flames clinging to houses, walls and gateways. When nothing was left, the blazing Sudarśana came back to the hand of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 207

Sources

• Varāha Purāṇa, Chapter 96
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 109, 112, 117, 174, 219, 305
• Kūrma Purāṇa, Poorvardha, Chapters 29–35
• Kūrma Purāṇa, Uttarardha, Chapters 30 and 42
• Liṅga Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha (Chapter 18, the stotra of Vishṇu)
• Nārada Purāṇa, Uttarardha, Chapters 48–51
• Śiva Purāṇa, Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapters 22–23
• Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 67
• Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 2–3, 16, 57, 60, 63
• Skanda Purāṇa, Kāśī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1–100 (Chapters 5, 6–7, 26, 27–29, 31, 43–50, 56–58, 69, 70, 71–72, 95–96, 98 and 99 cited above)
• Skanda Purāṇa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa (the Saṃvarta episode)
• Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 38–53
• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 6
• Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 7, Chapter 14; Skandha 9, Chapter 22; Skandha 10, Chapters 4, 37, 45, 57, 60, 66, 84; Skandha 12, Chapter 13
• Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 8; Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 1, Chapter 5; Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 1, Chapters 1, 4–5; Khaṇḍa 2, Chapters 24–27, 32–35; Khaṇḍa 4, Chapters 7–9, 11–13, 15–19, 21–23; Uttara Parva, Chapters 100, 130, 169, 191
• Brahma Purāṇa, Chapters 11, 13–14, 27, 34, 41, 194, 207, 228–229; Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapters 30, 58, 91