Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 23
न जिघृक्षति तेभ्योर्थमभयं चेति यच्छति । आविंध्याटवि मे नाम ग्राह्यं दुष्टभयापहम्
na jighṛkṣati tebhyorthamabhayaṃ ceti yacchati | āviṃdhyāṭavi me nāma grāhyaṃ duṣṭabhayāpaham
स तेभ्यः किञ्चिदर्थं न जिघृक्षति; प्रत्युत ‘अभयं ददामि’ इति वदन्— ‘मम नाम आविंध्याटवी; तद् गृहाण, दुष्टभयापहम्’ इति यच्छति।
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Āviṃdhyāṭavī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Piṅgākṣa (addressed as ‘O Piṅgākṣa’)
Scene: A righteous protector addresses frightened travelers at a forest-edge, refusing their wealth and instead proclaiming the forest’s sacred name ‘Āviṃdhyāṭavī’ as a charm of safety; dark trees recede as a luminous path opens.
FAQs
The righteous do not exploit travelers; they give ‘abhaya’—protection and reassurance—seen as a noble gift.
The verse supports the Kāśīkhaṇḍa pilgrimage setting where safe passage and protection are treated as sacred services.
A form of abhaya-dāna (granting fearlessness) is emphasized; also the remembrance of a protective name is suggested.