Greatness of Kashi-Vishveshvara Jyotirlingam

The rishis said

Suta, if the great city of Varanasi is sacred, tell us of its powers and of Lord Avimukta.

Suta replied

Lords among sages, I will tell you briefly but properly of lovely Varanasi and Vishveshvara's greatness. Once Devi Parvati, full of joy and wishing the good of the worlds, asked Shankara about the greatness of the two Avimuktas: "Out of compassion for me and for the good of the worlds, tell me the greatness of this field." Hearing her, the lord of the universe and of the gods answered Bhavani, for the pleasure of all beings.

Parameshvara said

Fortunate one, you have asked a virtuous question, and the answer will bring happiness and auspiciousness to the worlds. I will tell you exactly the greatness of the two Avimuktas. Varanasi is my most secret field, where I am always present to grant liberation to beings. In this field siddhas have always taken up my vows, in many forms, and they long for my world. Some follow the great supreme yoga of Pashupata, which the shrutis say gives both pleasure and liberation. They have conquered their selves and senses. Maheshvari, living in Varanasi always appeals to me above all else, and here is the clear reason. Two kinds of people reach liberation: my devotees and those who have knowledge. They do not need tirthas, and for them what should and should not be done is the same. Wherever they die they are jivanmuktas and will certainly be freed. That is my firm word. But this excellent tirtha Avimukta is special. Devi, supreme Shakti, listen with a good mind. All castes and stages of life, children, young people and the old, if they die in this city, are liberated without doubt. A woman who dies in this field is liberated whether she is pure or impure, unmarried or married, widowed or barren, in a state of monthly impurity or not, whether she has given birth or not and whether she has had the rites or not. Beings born from sweat, from eggs, plants and herbs, and those born from wombs, have a prospect of freedom here that exists nowhere else when they die. Devi, one need not depend on knowledge, devotion, action, gifts, sacraments, meditation, chanting of names, worship or good birth. My field gives liberation to any human who lives here, and when he dies here, he will certainly be freed. Beloved, such is my divine city, the most mysterious of all mysteries. Parvati, even Brahma and the others do not know its greatness. That is why this great field is called Avimukta, never forsaken. For giving liberation it is better than Naimisha and every other place. Truth is the dharma of the Upanishads and moksha is what they teach; the learned know the field of Avimukta to be the essence of all tirthas and Upanishads. A being may enjoy many pleasures and be busy with many activities, but if he gives up life in Avimukta, he is said to be liberated. It is better to commit a thousand sins and become a pishacha than to perform a thousand sacrifices and go to heaven without having been to Kashi. So every effort must be made to reach Kashika. There the sages meditate on Sadashiva in his unmanifest lingam. Beloved, a man practises austerity for fruits, but it is I who give him all those fruits. Those who give up their bodies here are not bound by the bonds of karma. They gain sayujya with the paramatman, and afterward reach the destination they wish. Brahma with the gods and sages, Vishnu, Divakara and the great-souled all worship me and no one else. Even a man addicted to sense objects or indifferent to dharma, if he dies in this field, does not enter samsara again. What then of those without possessiveness, patient, rooted in sattva, free of arrogance, who begin nothing without offering it to me? After thousands of births one is born a yogi. If he wants supreme liberation, he should wish to die here. There are many lingams here set up by devotees, Parvati, and all of them give desires in this world and liberation afterward. The field extends five kroshas in the four directions, and a being dying here is granted immortality. One who has committed no sin and dies here is liberated at once. One who has sinned and dies here must pass through several bodies, bear those hardships, and be liberated afterward. A man who commits a sin in the field of Avimukta will certainly suffer pain for ten thousand years, and only after enjoying the consequence is he freed. I have told you about those inclined to wicked conduct; knowing this, a man should serve Avimukta rightly.

Even in hundreds of crores of kalpas the fruits of karma do not wear out. The fruits of deeds done, good or bad, have to be enjoyed. Wholly wicked deeds lead to hell, wholly good deeds to heaven, and a mixture to human birth. Maheshvari, the karmakanda speaks of three kinds of karmic bond: sanchita, kriyamana and prarabdha. Sanchita is everything accumulated over previous births. Prarabdha is what this body is about to enjoy. Kriyamana is the good and bad being done in this birth. Prarabdha has to be worn out by experiencing it; there is no other way. But the other two kinds can be destroyed by worship and the like, and except in Kashi, karma of all kinds cannot be destroyed. Other tirthas are easy to reach, but Kashi is very hard to reach. One who saw Kashi lovingly in a former life can reach it and die there in this birth, and no other. If a man reaches Kashi and bathes in Ganga, sanchita and kriyamana karma are destroyed. Prarabdha cannot be destroyed without enjoyment: one dies and is reborn, and that is how it is used up. If someone who visited Kashi in the past commits a sin afterward, the seed is so strong that he is drawn to Kashika again, and there all the sins are burnt to ashes. So, to destroy their roots, one should go to Kashi. Beloved, arranging a home in Kashi for even a single brahmana is as if the giver himself lived in Kashi, and so he is freed. One who dies in Kashi is not reborn. One who dies at Prayaga gains whatever he wishes. If both were available at Prayaga, Kashi would give nothing more; if both were available in Kashi, Tirtharaja would give nothing more. Following my instructions and whatever occurs to his mind, Vishnu keeps creating newer and newer methods of attaining siddhi.

Suta concluded

Supreme sages, there are many sides to the greatness of Kashi and Vishveshvara, and they grant pleasure and liberation to the virtuous. Next I will tell you of the greatness of Tryambaka, hearing which a man is at once freed from all sins.