Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 160
मद्भक्तियुक्तोपि विना त्वदीयां भक्तिं न काशी वसतिं लभेत । गणेषु देवेषु हि मानवेषु तदग्रमान्यो भव दंडपाणे
madbhaktiyuktopi vinā tvadīyāṃ bhaktiṃ na kāśī vasatiṃ labheta | gaṇeṣu deveṣu hi mānaveṣu tadagramānyo bhava daṃḍapāṇe
حتى من كان متعبّدًا لي لا ينال السكنى في كاشي ما لم تكن له عبادةٌ لك. لذلك، يا دَنْدَپاني حامل العصا، كن بين غَناتي، وبين الآلهة، وبين البشر أيضًا، الأوّلَ والأكرمَ منزلةً.
Śiva (addressing Daṇḍapāṇi; inferred from 'madbhakti' and direct vocative)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Kālabhairava/Daṇḍapāṇi kṣetrapāla)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Daṇḍapāṇi (Kālabhairava)
Scene: Śiva addresses Daṇḍapāṇi, elevating him as foremost; Bhairava stands vigilant with staff (daṇḍa), dog mount nearby, guarding the thresholds of Kāśī’s lanes and temples.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as a divinely regulated sacred space where devotion must align with Śiva’s appointed power and guardianship.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a protected divine residence (vasati) with spiritual prerequisites.
No formal rite is specified; the prescription is devotional allegiance (bhakti) to the designated guardian figure, Daṇḍapāṇi.