Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 58
एवंभूतां तु यः काशीमन्योपि हि शपिष्यति । तस्यैव शापो भविता न तु काश्याः कथंचन
evaṃbhūtāṃ tu yaḥ kāśīmanyopi hi śapiṣyati | tasyaiva śāpo bhavitā na tu kāśyāḥ kathaṃcana
ഇത്ര പവിത്രമായ കാശിയെ ആരെങ്കിലും ശപിച്ചാലും, ആ ശാപം ശപിച്ചവനിലേക്കുതന്നെ മടങ്ങിവരും; കാശിക്ക് ഒരുവിധത്തിലും ഹാനിയുണ്ടാകില്ല.
Durvāsas (as quoted in the narrative context)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A devotee or skeptic attempts to curse Kāśī; the curse turns back like a dark arrow returning to its source, while the luminous city of ghāṭas remains untouched under Śiva’s unseen protection.
FAQs
A sacred kṣetra like Kāśī is protected by divine order; malice toward it rebounds upon the doer.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), the foremost Śaiva kṣetra celebrated in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa.
No ritual is prescribed here; it teaches reverence and restraint in speech toward holy places.