Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35
हे यक्षराज रजनीकर चारुमूर्ते श्रीपूर्णभद्रसुतनायक दंडपाणे । त्वं वै तपोजनितदुःखमवैपि सर्वं किं मां बहिर्नयसि काशिनिवासिरक्षिन्
he yakṣarāja rajanīkara cārumūrte śrīpūrṇabhadrasutanāyaka daṃḍapāṇe | tvaṃ vai tapojanitaduḥkhamavaipi sarvaṃ kiṃ māṃ bahirnayasi kāśinivāsirakṣin
Ô roi des Yakṣa, à la forme gracieuse telle la lune; ô chef des fils de Śrī Pūrṇabhadra, toi qui portes le bâton ! Tu connais parfaitement toute souffrance née de l’ascèse; pourquoi donc me chasses-tu au dehors, ô protecteur des habitants de Kāśī ?
A sage/devotee addressing the kṣetrapāla (yakṣa-associated guardian imagery)
Tirtha: Kāśī – Daṇḍapāṇi/Kālabhairava as kṣetrapāla
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse
Scene: The sage addresses the guardian with ornate epithets: a moon-bright yet formidable figure holding a staff (daṇḍa), surrounded by yakṣa-like attendants. The sage’s posture conveys both reverence and anguish, as if being turned away from the city’s boundary.
FAQs
A sacred place has guardians and rules; sincere seekers appeal to divine protection when confronted with exclusion or obstacles.
Kāśī, invoked through the epithet “protector of Kāśī’s residents.”
No explicit rite; the verse is a supplication (prārthanā) to the guardian-deity.