Once, a seeker approached the great Lord Śaṅkara with earnest questions: “O God, how can a person behold you in a short span of time? Tell me, O Śaṅkara, what other arduous tasks exist in this world?” In response, the blessed Lord, subtle yet perceivable by all embodied beings, spoke for the welfare of all devotees. “Listen, O destroyer of desire, to the true principle as revealed by the supreme sages. This principle is the sure deliverer from the ocean of worldly existence for all beings. Great souls, firmly established in the highest discipline, dwell in that state. “Among all forms of knowledge, the imperishable is supreme, and this knowledge is mine. Yet, only those who reside in cremation grounds or who have reached the divine realm are able to perceive it. Those who are not disciplined do not see this truth, but those who are steadfast and yoked in their practice perceive it with their minds. “O beautiful one, becoming Time itself, I withdraw this world; but my devotees go to that place and merge into me alone. There, meditation, study, and knowledge all become imperishable. For one who has entered Avimukta, all that is perishable is destroyed. “Even women, foreigners, and others of mixed or sinful birth—if they meet their end in Avimukta, O lovely-faced one—are reborn as humans in my city, O goddess, which is Shiva’s own. All who are favored by the Lord attain the supreme state. Even one who, having struck his foot with a stone, dwells in Varanasi—wherever he meets his end—finds liberation from worldly existence. “Yet, those who are not awakened, deluded by my māyā, do not see this truth. They dwell again and again among excrement, urine, and semen, caught in the cycle of birth and death. But the one who attains the supreme state, upon reaching it, knows no grief. Having attained that, one is truly accomplished—so the wise declare. “That highest state can indeed be attained, but it is found only in Avimukta. The wise recognize Avimukta as the supreme remedy. Avimukta is the highest truth; Avimukta is the greatest auspiciousness. To those who come there, I grant the supreme knowledge and, at the end, the highest state. “Kedāra, Bhadrakarṇa, Gayā, and Puṣkara, Prabhāsa, Vijayeśāna, Gokarṇa, and Bhadrakarṇaka—none of these sacred places grant the highest liberation as does dying in Vārāṇasī. Entering there destroys the sins accumulated over hundreds of lifetimes. All vows are exceedingly rare in Vārāṇasī. A man who subsists on air alone and remains in Vārāṇasī purifies all. Freed from all sins, he is to be known as a lord among hosts. “That supreme state, which may be attained after a thousand births elsewhere, is reached in just one birth in Vārāṇasī. Having reached Avimukta, one should not seek any other hermitage. This is the most secret of all secrets—knowing this, one is truly liberated.