Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 61
अव्यात्सदा दरदरीं जगदीश्वरी नो नाभिं नभोगतिरजात्वथ पृष्ठदेशम् । पायात्कटिं च विकटा परमास्फिचौ नो गुह्यं गुहारणिरपानमपाय हंत्री
avyātsadā daradarīṃ jagadīśvarī no nābhiṃ nabhogatirajātvatha pṛṣṭhadeśam | pāyātkaṭiṃ ca vikaṭā paramāsphicau no guhyaṃ guhāraṇirapānamapāya haṃtrī
জগদীশ্বৰীয়ে সদায় আমাক ৰক্ষা কৰক—দৰদৰীৰূপে আমাৰ নাভি; আৰু নভোগতিৰজাৰূপে আমাৰ পিঠি-দেশ। বিকটাদেৱীয়ে আমাৰ কটি আৰু উচ্চ নিতম্ব ৰক্ষা কৰক; আৰু গুহাৰণী—অপশকুন-নাশিনী—আমাৰ গুপ্তাঙ্গ আৰু অপান প্ৰাণ ৰক্ষা কৰক।
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically addressing Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Devī Jagadīśvarī as a protective field around the pilgrim’s lower torso: Daradarī guarding the navel like a whirling protective knot; Nabho-gatirajā guarding the back with sky-like radiance; Vikaṭā stabilizing waist and hips with formidable presence; Guhāraṇi shielding the secret parts and regulating apāna, crushing misfortune beneath her feet.
FAQs
It teaches śaraṇāgati (taking refuge) in Jagadīśvarī through aṅga-prārthanā—invoking the Devī’s names to sanctify and protect the body and vital energies.
The verse participates in the Kāśī-māhātmya atmosphere of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where Devī’s forms are praised as protecting presences in sacred Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), even when a single tirtha is not explicitly named in this line.
No direct injunction (snāna, dāna, vrata) is stated here; the practice implied is japa/recitation of Devī-nāmas as a protective prayer over the body and prāṇic functions (especially apāna).