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
«Para segar a esos (obstructores), yo empuño un hacha. Pero aquellos en Kāśī que apartan los obstáculos, y aquellos en Kāśī cuya mente está en el dharma—»
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.