Skandapurana 4.60.96.1

4.60.96.1

.. śrīviṣṇuruvāca ..
agnibiṃdo mahāprājña mahatā tapasāṃnidhe ..
varaṃ varaya suprītastavādeyaṃ na kiṃcana ..45..
agnibiṃduruvāca .. ..
yadi prītosi bhagavanvaikuṃṭheśa jagatpate ..
kamalākāṃta taddehi yadiha prārthayāmyaham.. .. 46 ..
kṛtānujñotha hariṇā bhrūbhaṃgena sa tāpasaḥ ..
kṛtapraṇāmo hṛṣṭātmā varayāmāsa keśavam .. 47 ..
bhagavansarvagopīha tiṣṭha paṃcanade hrade ..
hitāya sarva jaṃtūnāṃ mumukṣūṇāṃ viśeṣataḥ .. 48 ..
lakṣmīśe na varo mahyameṣa deyo'vicārataḥ ..
nānyaṃ varaṃ samīhehaṃ bhaktiṃ ca tvapadāṃbuje .. 49 ..
iti śrutvā varaṃ tasyāgnibiṃdormadhusūdanaḥ ..
prītaḥ paropakārārthaṃ tathetyāhābdhijāpatiḥ .. 4.2.60.50 ..
.. śrīviṣṇuruvāca .. ..
agnibiṃdo muniśreṣṭha sthāsyāmyahamiha dhruvam ..
kāśībhaktimatāṃ puṃsāṃ muktimārgaṃ samādiśan .. 51 ..
mune punaḥ prasannosmi varaṃ brūhi dadāmi te ..
atīva mama bhaktosi bhaktistestu dṛḍhā mayi .. 52 ..
ādāveva hi tiṣṭhāsurahamatra taponidhe ..
tatastvayā samabhyarthi sthāsyāmyatra sadaiva hi .. 53 ..
prāpya kāśīṃ sudurmedhāḥ kastyajejjñānavānyadi ..
anarghyaṃ prāpya māṇikyaṃ hitvā kācaṃ ka īhate .. 54 ..
alpīyasā śrameṇeha vapuṣo vyayamātrataḥ ..
avaśyaṃ gatvarasyāśu yathāmuktistathā kva hi .. 55 ..
vinimayya jarājīrṇaṃ dehaṃ pārthivamatra vai ..
prājñāḥ kimu na gṛhṇīyuramṛtaṃ nairjaraṃ vapuḥ .. 56 ..
na tapobhirna vā dānairna yajñairbahudakṣiṇaiḥ ..
anyatra labhyate mokṣo yathā kāśyāṃ tanu vyayāt .. 57 ..
api yogaṃ hi yuṃjānā yogino yatamānasāḥ ..
naikenajanmanā muktāḥ kāśyāṃ muktā vapurvyayāt .. 58 ..

Śrī Viṣṇu said: / O Agnibindu of great wisdom, storehouse of great austerities, / choose a boon, [for] I am well pleased; there is nothing that cannot be given to you.
Agnibindu said: / If you are pleased, O Blessed One, O lord of Vaikuṇṭha, O Lord of the Universe, / O beloved of Kamalā, then grant what I request here.
Then, permitted by Hari with a knitting of his brows, that ascetic, / having bowed with a joyful heart, chose a boon from Keśava:
O Blessed One, though all-pervading, remain here in this pool of the Pañcanada / for the welfare of all living beings, especially those desiring liberation.
O Lord of Lakṣmī, this boon must be granted to me without hesitation; / I desire no other boon except devotion to your lotus feet.
Having heard that boon of Agnibindu, Madhusūdana, / the husband of the ocean-born [Lakṣmī], pleased, said, "So be it," for the sake of helping others.
Śrī Viṣṇu said: / O Agnibindu, best of sages, I will certainly dwell here, / pointing out the path to liberation for men possessing devotion to Kāśī.
O sage, I am pleased again; state a boon, and I will give it to you. / You are exceedingly devoted to me; may your devotion to me remain steadfast.
For I was eager to stay here from the very beginning, O storehouse of austerity; / therefore, requested by you, I shall indeed dwell here forever.
Having attained Kāśī, who, if possessed of discernment, would abandon it, unless exceedingly foolish? / Having obtained a priceless ruby, who leaves it behind and seeks glass?
With very little effort here, merely by the spending of this body, / which is inevitably fleeting, where else is there liberation as there is here?
Having exchanged the earthen body worn out by old age here, / would the wise not indeed accept an immortal, godlike body?
Neither by austerities nor by gifts, nor by sacrifices with bountiful dakṣiṇās, / is liberation attained elsewhere as it is in Kāśī by the shedding of the body.
Even yogins engaged in yoga, with their minds restrained, / are not liberated in a single birth; but in Kāśī they are liberated by the shedding of the body.