Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79
तेषां च संछिदां कर्तुमहं धृतकुठारकः । ये काश्यां विघ्नहर्तारो ये काश्यां धर्मबुद्धयः
teṣāṃ ca saṃchidāṃ kartumahaṃ dhṛtakuṭhārakaḥ | ye kāśyāṃ vighnahartāro ye kāśyāṃ dharmabuddhayaḥ
«Um jene (Hindernisbereiter) niederzuhauen, halte ich eine Axt. Doch jene in Kāśī, die Hindernisse hinwegnehmen, und jene in Kāśī, deren Sinn auf Dharma gerichtet ist—»
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya; quoted speech of the described guardian implied)
Listener: Kumbhaja (Agastya)
Scene: A guardian figure brandishes an axe to sever the ‘obstruction’ embodied as thorny vines/demonic forms, while blessing dharma-minded helpers who clear the path to shrines and ghāṭas.
FAQs
Sacred space is moral space: Kāśī protects the dhārmic and confronts those who harm the spiritual welfare of others.
The verse belongs to the Kāśī protective geography narrative—depicting a guardian principle that preserves dharma within the city.
No explicit rite; the emphasis is on conduct—be dharma-minded and a remover of vighnas within Kāśī.