Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 71
अद्यप्रभृति मे नाम दुर्गेति ख्यातिमेष्यति । दुर्गदैत्यस्य समरे पातनादति दुर्गमात्
adyaprabhṛti me nāma durgeti khyātimeṣyati | durgadaityasya samare pātanādati durgamāt
“Mulai hari ini namaku akan masyhur sebagai ‘Durgā’; kerana dalam peperangan Aku telah menjatuhkan asura Durga dari kubu yang amat sukar ditembusi itu.”
Durgā
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Devas; later devotees who hear the account
Scene: Battle tableau: Devi topples the demon ‘Durga’ from an impregnable fortress; afterward she stands victorious as devas acclaim her new renowned name ‘Durgā’.
FAQs
Devī’s name embodies her function: she overcomes what is ‘durga’—the hard-to-cross, the impregnable—making the impossible passable for devotees.
The etymology is given within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa narrative frame of Kāśī, linking sacred storytelling to devotional practice in the holy city.
No explicit rite; it supplies a theological-etymological basis for invoking the name “Durgā” with faith.