Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 110
दैनंदिनेऽथ प्रलये त्रिशूलकोटौ समुत्क्षिप्य पुरीं हरः स्वाम् । बिभर्ति संवर्त महास्थिभूषणस्ततो हि काशी कलिकालवर्जिता
dainaṃdine'tha pralaye triśūlakoṭau samutkṣipya purīṃ haraḥ svām | bibharti saṃvarta mahāsthibhūṣaṇastato hi kāśī kalikālavarjitā
Pada peleraian harian dan pada pralaya agung, Hara (Śiva) mengangkat kotanya sendiri di hujung trisula lalu menanggungnya—Dialah Saṃvarta yang perkasa, berhias perhiasan tulang-tulang besar. Maka Kāśī bebas daripada cela Kali-yuga.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Agastya (Kalaśaja)
Scene: Cosmic dissolution: dark swirling waters and collapsing worlds; Śiva (Saṃvarta-like, bone-ornamented) raises Kāśī—miniature city with temples and ghats—balanced on the tip of his trident, serene amid chaos.
FAQs
Kāśī is presented as Śiva’s own imperishable city, protected beyond ordinary cosmic cycles and moral decline.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as Śiva’s city, upheld even during pralaya.
No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse provides theological grounding for Kāśī’s exceptional sanctity.