Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29
नाके नवग्रहाः संति देशास्तस्याऽनवग्रहाः
nāke navagrahāḥ saṃti deśāstasyā'navagrahāḥ
Im Himmel sind die neun planetarischen Mächte gegenwärtig; doch in seinem Land sind die Gegenden frei von graha-bedingter Bedrängnis und von jeder Hemmung.
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context typically Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśīkṣetra (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience of the Kāśī-māhātmya discourse (not explicit)
Scene: A protective mandala-like image: Kāśī encircled by a luminous aura that repels nine planetary deities shown at a distance; within, pilgrims move unobstructed along ghāṭas and temples, symbolizing ‘anavagraha’.
FAQs
A supremely sacred realm is portrayed as spiritually protective—negative constraints symbolized by graha-forces do not bind its inhabitants.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is implied as the land whose sanctity neutralizes afflictive influences.
No explicit remedy or rite is given; the verse itself functions as praise of the place’s innate protective merit.