Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57
विनाच्छिद्रेण तं भूपं नोत्सादयितुमुत्सहे । मयैव हि यतो रक्ष्याः प्रिये धर्मधुरंधराः
vinācchidreṇa taṃ bhūpaṃ notsādayitumutsahe | mayaiva hi yato rakṣyāḥ priye dharmadhuraṃdharāḥ
من غير أن أجد ثغرةً فيه لا أستطيع إسقاط ذلك الملك؛ لأن حَمَلة الدهرما الثابتين يجب أن أحميهم أنا نفسي، يا حبيب.
Śiva (addressing Devī/Umā)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Implied interlocutor addressed as ‘priye’ (beloved)—likely a divine consort/close attendant within the narrative frame
Scene: A deity reflects on the impossibility of toppling a faultless dharmic king; the king stands firm, radiant, shielded by an unseen divine aura; courtiers and sacred city motifs frame the scene.
FAQs
Dharma provides inviolability; even divine forces do not act against a righteous protector unless a genuine breach appears.
Kāśī/Vārāṇasī, where the narrative frames kingship as accountable to dharma under Śiva’s guardianship.
None; the verse emphasizes ethical “qualification” and rāja-dharma rather than a specific rite.