Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31
कृत्वा बालोचितां रक्षां हरेण हरिणा सह । निर्ययौ हंसमारुह्य सर्वेषां प्रपितामहः
kṛtvā bālocitāṃ rakṣāṃ hareṇa hariṇā saha | niryayau haṃsamāruhya sarveṣāṃ prapitāmahaḥ
ശിശുവിനുചിതമായ രക്ഷാവിധി നിർവഹിച്ചു, ഹരി (വിഷ്ണു)യും ഹര (ശിവ)യും കൂടെ, സർവ്വരുടെയും പ്രപിതാമഹനായ ബ്രഹ്മാവ് ഹംസത്തിൽ കയറി പുറപ്പെട്ടു.
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Scene: Brahmā, venerable and four-faced, completes infant-protection rites (rakṣā) and departs on a white swan; beside him stand Hari (with conch/discus) and Hara (with trident), forming a serene tri-mūrti tableau over Kāśī’s sacred skyline.
FAQs
Protective dharma for new life is sacred; the narrative portrays cosmic guardianship where major deities affirm saṁskāra and care.
Kāśī is the overarching setting in Kāśīkhaṇḍa, though this verse centers on departure after rites.
Bālocitā rakṣā—protective rites appropriate for an infant—are mentioned.