Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56
ब्रह्माणि रक्ष सततं नतमौलिदेशं त्वं वैष्णवि प्रतिकुलं परिपालयाधः । रुद्राग्नि नैरृति सदागति दिक्षु पांतु मृत्युंजया त्रिनयना त्रिपुरा त्रिशक्त्यः
brahmāṇi rakṣa satataṃ natamaulideśaṃ tvaṃ vaiṣṇavi pratikulaṃ paripālayādhaḥ | rudrāgni nairṛti sadāgati dikṣu pāṃtu mṛtyuṃjayā trinayanā tripurā triśaktyaḥ
おおブラフマーニーよ、礼拝して頭を垂れる者の満ちるこの聖域を、つねに守り給え。おおヴァイシュナヴィーよ、下方より敵対し逆らう力を退けて護り給え。方位を巡る守護者ルドラー、アグニー、ナイリティーが四方を守り、また死を克つ女神ムリティユンジャヤー、三眼の聖母、トリプラー、そして三つのシャクティが尽きぬ加護を授け給え。
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (protected kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A protective mandala over Kāśī: Brahmāṇī and Vaiṣṇavī preside, while fierce and luminous Śaktis occupy the directions; Mṛtyuṃjayā and Trinayanā radiate a death-conquering aura, sealing the city from all sides and below.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as a supremely protected sacred realm where devotion (bowed heads) draws the guardianship of Śakti and the directional protectors, teaching reliance on dharmic refuge and divine protection.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a whole—presented as a sanctified region guarded in all directions by divine powers rather than a single, named kuṇḍa or ghāṭa in this verse.
No explicit dāna, snāna, or vrata is stated here; the verse functions as a protective remembrance (smaraṇa) and implied japa-style invocation of the guarding deities/śaktis.