What is the mythological origin of Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi?

According to Chapter 26 of the Kashi Khand (Skanda Purana), Manikarnika Ghat has a sacred origin story tied to Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. When Shiva and Shakti created Kashi as the first place in the universe, they commanded Vishnu to create the rest of the cosmos. To fulfill this task, Vishnu performed 500,000 years of fierce austerities (tapasya) at this spot and dug a beautiful lotus pond (pushkarini) with his discus (chakra), filling it with the sweat of his devotion. When Shiva and Parvati came to witness Vishnu”s devotion, Shiva was so spellbound that his body trembled with emotion. This trembling caused his jewelled earring — manikarnika (from mani meaning jewel and karnika meaning earring) — to drop from his ear into Vishnu”s pond. The sacred pool was thus named Manikarnika Kund, and the ghat built around it inherited the name. This origin story is specifically recorded in the Kashi Khand and remains the most authoritative scriptural account of the ghat”s name.