Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34
हा कालभैरव भवानभितो भयार्तान्माभैष्ट चे तिभणनैः स्वकरं प्रसार्य । मूर्तिं विधाय विकटां कटुपापभोक्त्रीं वाराणसीस्थितजनान्परिपाति किं न
hā kālabhairava bhavānabhito bhayārtānmābhaiṣṭa ce tibhaṇanaiḥ svakaraṃ prasārya | mūrtiṃ vidhāya vikaṭāṃ kaṭupāpabhoktrīṃ vārāṇasīsthitajanānparipāti kiṃ na
Wahai Kālabhairava! Bukankah Engkau dari segala penjuru melindungi insan Vārāṇasī yang dilanda takut—mengulurkan tangan-Mu sendiri seraya bersabda, “Jangan takut”—dan mengambil wujud dahsyat yang melahap pahitnya buah dosa?
A devotee/sage praising Kālabhairava
Tirtha: Kāśī – Kālabhairava (kṣetrapāla)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse
Scene: Kālabhairava stands in a formidable posture, one hand extended in abhaya-mudrā, the other holding weaponry; his fierce visage is compassionate in intent. Around him, the people of Vārāṇasī—pilgrims, householders, ascetics—are calmed and protected; a dark aura of ‘sin-fruits’ is shown being consumed/transmuted into light.
FAQs
The kṣetrapāla grants abhaya (fearlessness) and safeguards devotees, destroying the burdens of sin through divine power.
Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), explicitly named as the protected city.
No specific ritual is prescribed; the verse is a stotra-like praise highlighting Bhairava’s protective function.