Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69
कौर्मी शक्तिर्महालक्ष्मी दक्षिणे पाशपाणिका । बध्नाति विघ्नसंघातं क्षेत्रस्यास्य प्रतिक्षणम्
kaurmī śaktirmahālakṣmī dakṣiṇe pāśapāṇikā | badhnāti vighnasaṃghātaṃ kṣetrasyāsya pratikṣaṇam
ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೌರ್ಮೀ-ಶಕ್ತಿರೂಪಿಣಿ ಮಹಾಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀ ಪಾಶವನ್ನು ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಡಿದು ನಿಂತು, ಈ ಪುಣ್ಯಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ (ಕಾಶೀ) ಮೇಲೆ ಬರುವ ವಿಘ್ನಸಮೂಹವನ್ನು ಪ್ರತಿಕ್ಷಣ ಬಂಧಿಸಿ ನಿರೋಧಿಸುತ್ತಾಳೆ।
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (southern guardian: Mahālakṣmī/Kaurmī-Śakti)
Type: kshetra
Scene: On Kāśī’s southern side, Mahālakṣmī as Kaurmī-Śakti stands vigilant, holding a pāśa (noose), binding a swirling mass of dark, thorny ‘vighnas’ that try to enter the luminous sacred field.
FAQs
Divine guardianship is continuous in Kāśī; the Śakti of the kṣetra actively restrains obstacles for sincere seekers.
The Kāśī-kṣetra (Vārāṇasī) as a protected sacred field, guarded by Mahālakṣmī in the southern quarter.
No specific rite is stated here; it describes the protective function of the kṣetra-devatā.