Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72
विपन्नानां च जंतूनां दातुं नैःश्रेयसीं श्रियम् । सर्वेषामिह संस्थानां क्षेत्रं चैवाभिरक्षितुम्
vipannānāṃ ca jaṃtūnāṃ dātuṃ naiḥśreyasīṃ śriyam | sarveṣāmiha saṃsthānāṃ kṣetraṃ caivābhirakṣitum
വിപന്ന ജീവികൾക്ക് നൈഃശ്രേയസീ ശ്രീ—മോക്ഷപ്രദമായ പരമ മംഗളസമ്പത്ത്—നൽകുവാനും, ഇവിടെ വസിക്കുന്ന എല്ലാവർക്കുമായി ഈ ക്ഷേത്രഭൂമിയെ സംരക്ഷിക്കുവാനും.
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)
Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly (typical frame; not stated in verse)
Scene: Śiva’s protective presence over Kāśī: distressed beings approaching the kṣetra, receiving peace and uplift; the kṣetra depicted as a luminous mandala with ghats and shrines.
FAQs
A true kṣetra exists for upliftment—protecting seekers and granting the highest welfare that culminates in liberation.
The verse praises the protective and liberating function of the Kāśī/Avimukta sacred field in this narrative context.
No explicit rite is given; the emphasis is on the kṣetra’s salvific protection and grace.