Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56
ब्रह्माणि रक्ष सततं नतमौलिदेशं त्वं वैष्णवि प्रतिकुलं परिपालयाधः । रुद्राग्नि नैरृति सदागति दिक्षु पांतु मृत्युंजया त्रिनयना त्रिपुरा त्रिशक्त्यः
brahmāṇi rakṣa satataṃ natamaulideśaṃ tvaṃ vaiṣṇavi pratikulaṃ paripālayādhaḥ | rudrāgni nairṛti sadāgati dikṣu pāṃtu mṛtyuṃjayā trinayanā tripurā triśaktyaḥ
يا براهْمَانِي، احفظي على الدوام هذه البقعة المقدّسة التي تكثر فيها الرؤوس المنحنية للعبّاد. ويا فايشنَفِي، صوني من الأسفل من القوى المعادية والمناوئة. ولتحمِ رودرا وأغني ونايرِتي—حارسات الجهات الدائمات الحركة—هذا الموضع من كل جانب؛ ولتمنح مِرتيونجَيا، ذات العيون الثلاث، وتريبورا، والشكتيات الثلاث حماية لا تخيب.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (protected kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A protective mandala over Kāśī: Brahmāṇī and Vaiṣṇavī preside, while fierce and luminous Śaktis occupy the directions; Mṛtyuṃjayā and Trinayanā radiate a death-conquering aura, sealing the city from all sides and below.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as a supremely protected sacred realm where devotion (bowed heads) draws the guardianship of Śakti and the directional protectors, teaching reliance on dharmic refuge and divine protection.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a whole—presented as a sanctified region guarded in all directions by divine powers rather than a single, named kuṇḍa or ghāṭa in this verse.
No explicit dāna, snāna, or vrata is stated here; the verse functions as a protective remembrance (smaraṇa) and implied japa-style invocation of the guarding deities/śaktis.