Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4
गणावूचतुः । पुरा सिसृक्षतः सृष्टिं स्रष्टुरंगुष्ठपृष्ठतः । दक्षः प्रजाविनिर्माणे दक्षो जातः प्रजापतिः । षष्टिर्दुहितरस्तस्य तपोलावण्यभूषणाः । सर्वलावण्यरोहिण्यो रोहिणीप्रमुखाः शुभाः
gaṇāvūcatuḥ | purā sisṛkṣataḥ sṛṣṭiṃ sraṣṭuraṃguṣṭhapṛṣṭhataḥ | dakṣaḥ prajāvinirmāṇe dakṣo jātaḥ prajāpatiḥ | ṣaṣṭirduhitarastasya tapolāvaṇyabhūṣaṇāḥ | sarvalāvaṇyarohiṇyo rohiṇīpramukhāḥ śubhāḥ
Para Gaṇa berkata: Pada zaman purba, ketika Sang Pencipta hendak menampakkan ciptaan, dari punggung ibu jari Sang Pencipta muncullah Dakṣa, Prajāpati yang cakap, mahir dalam membentuk makhluk. Ia memiliki enam puluh putri yang suci dan mujur, berhias tapa dan keelokan, bersinar oleh segala pesona—dengan Rohiṇī sebagai yang utama.
Gaṇas (Śiva’s attendants)
Scene: A cosmic tableau: the Creator (Brahmā) in meditation; from the back of his thumb arises Dakṣa, radiant and poised as Prajāpati; around him stand sixty luminous daughters, austere yet beautiful, Rohiṇī foremost.
FAQs
Cosmic order arises through divinely sanctioned creation, and austerity (tapas) is portrayed as an ornament that sanctifies even celestial lineages.
The wider passage belongs to the Kāśī-khaṇḍa (Kāśī-māhātmya), setting the stage for later verses that anchor the narrative in Kāśī’s sacred landscape.
No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it introduces the lineage and virtues (tapas) that lead to later Kāśī-centered worship and boons.