Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 33
अन्वेषणे ढुंढिरयं प्रथितोस्तिधातुः सर्वार्थढुंढिततया तव ढुंढि नाम । काशीप्रवेशमपि को लभतेत्र देही तोषं विना तव विनायकढुंढिराज
anveṣaṇe ḍhuṃḍhirayaṃ prathitostidhātuḥ sarvārthaḍhuṃḍhitatayā tava ḍhuṃḍhi nāma | kāśīpraveśamapi ko labhatetra dehī toṣaṃ vinā tava vināyakaḍhuṃḍhirāja
Because the root “ḍhuṃḍh” is famed in the sense of “searching,” and because You are the One who seeks out and brings about every aim, You are called Dhūṇḍhi. O Vināyaka Dhūṇḍhirāja—without first winning Your satisfaction, what embodied being here can even obtain entry into Kāśī?
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogues, often Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Dhūṇḍhirāja Vināyaka
Type: temple
Listener: Vināyaka Dhūṇḍhirāja (addressed)
Scene: At a Kāśī lane-temple threshold, Dhūṇḍhirāja Gaṇeśa sits as guardian; pilgrims with travel bundles pause, fold hands, and offer flowers. A subtle motif of ‘searching’ appears—Gaṇeśa’s gaze ‘finding’ the devotee’s aim like a lamp illuminating hidden paths.
FAQs
Even the holiest pilgrimage—entry into Kāśī—should be approached with humility and proper propitiation; Vināyaka’s grace removes obstacles and authorizes sacred access.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is praised, with emphasis on the threshold principle that entry into Kāśī is secured through Dhūṇḍhirāja Vināyaka’s satisfaction.
No explicit rite (snāna/dāna/japa) is stated in this verse; it gives a general prescription of obtaining Vināyaka Dhūṇḍhirāja’s toṣa (propitiatory satisfaction) before seeking Kāśī-praveśa.