Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 78
रोरूयते वृषाकारस्त्रिधा बद्धः स कुंभज । काशीविघ्रकरा ये च ये काश्यां पापबुद्धयः
rorūyate vṛṣākārastridhā baddhaḥ sa kuṃbhaja | kāśīvighrakarā ye ca ye kāśyāṃ pāpabuddhayaḥ
हे कुंभज! तो वृषभ-रूप धारण करून त्रिविध बंधनांनी बद्ध होऊन गर्जना करीत असतो. आणि जे काशीत विघ्न करणारे आहेत, तसेच जे काशीत पापबुद्धीने राहतात—
Skanda (deduced, Kāśīkhaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)
Listener: Kumbhaja (Agastya) addressed as ‘son of Kumbha’
Scene: A bull-formed, roaring Rudra-guardian bound ‘threefold’ stands as a fierce sentinel of Kāśī; shadowy figures representing obstructionists recoil in fear within a ghāṭa-temple cityscape.
FAQs
Kāśī’s holiness demands inner dharma; obstructing sacred life or acting with sinful intent invites divine restraint and correction.
The verse continues a directional sacred mapping in Kāśī, introducing a bull-formed roaring presence tied to the city’s protection from vighnas.
No direct ritual is prescribed; it functions as a moral and protective warning within the sthala narrative.