Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 61
अव्यात्सदा दरदरीं जगदीश्वरी नो नाभिं नभोगतिरजात्वथ पृष्ठदेशम् । पायात्कटिं च विकटा परमास्फिचौ नो गुह्यं गुहारणिरपानमपाय हंत्री
avyātsadā daradarīṃ jagadīśvarī no nābhiṃ nabhogatirajātvatha pṛṣṭhadeśam | pāyātkaṭiṃ ca vikaṭā paramāsphicau no guhyaṃ guhāraṇirapānamapāya haṃtrī
ಜಗದೀಶ್ವರಿ ಸದಾ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಕಾಪಾಡಲಿ—ದರದರಿ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮ ನಾಭಿಯನ್ನು; ನಭೋಗತಿರಜಾ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಪೃಷ್ಠದೇಶವನ್ನು. ವಿಕಟಾ ದೇವಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಕಟಿಯನ್ನೂ ಉನ್ನತ ಸ್ಫಿಚೌ (ನಿತಂಬ)ಗಳನ್ನೂ ರಕ್ಷಿಸಲಿ; ಅಪಾಯಹಂತ್ರಿ ಗುಹಾರಣಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಗುಹ್ಯಾಂಗಗಳನ್ನೂ ಅಪಾನವಾಯುವನ್ನೂ ಕಾಪಾಡಲಿ.
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically addressing Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Devī Jagadīśvarī as a protective field around the pilgrim’s lower torso: Daradarī guarding the navel like a whirling protective knot; Nabho-gatirajā guarding the back with sky-like radiance; Vikaṭā stabilizing waist and hips with formidable presence; Guhāraṇi shielding the secret parts and regulating apāna, crushing misfortune beneath her feet.
FAQs
It teaches śaraṇāgati (taking refuge) in Jagadīśvarī through aṅga-prārthanā—invoking the Devī’s names to sanctify and protect the body and vital energies.
The verse participates in the Kāśī-māhātmya atmosphere of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where Devī’s forms are praised as protecting presences in sacred Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), even when a single tirtha is not explicitly named in this line.
No direct injunction (snāna, dāna, vrata) is stated here; the practice implied is japa/recitation of Devī-nāmas as a protective prayer over the body and prāṇic functions (especially apāna).