Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 20
दुर्वृत्तसुप्रवृत्तेश्च निवृत्तिकरणीं सुराः । दक्षिणोत्तरदिग्भागे कृत्वाऽसिं वरणां सुराः
durvṛttasupravṛtteśca nivṛttikaraṇīṃ surāḥ | dakṣiṇottaradigbhāge kṛtvā'siṃ varaṇāṃ surāḥ
தீய நடத்தையைக் கட்டுப்படுத்தவும், நல்லொழுக்கத்தைச் செம்மார்க்கில் ஊக்கவும் தேவர்கள் ஏற்பாடு செய்தனர். தென் மற்றும் வட திசைகளில் அசி மற்றும் வரணாவை நிறுவினர்.
Skanda (contextual, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration)
Tirtha: Asi and Varaṇā (boundary powers of Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A map-like sacred diagram: Kāśī in the center, with the southern boundary marked by a radiant sword-stream ‘Asi’ and the northern boundary by the river-goddess ‘Varaṇā’. Two groups of people: one turned back by a stern luminous force, another gently guided inward toward temples and ghāṭas.
FAQs
Kāśī’s sanctity is described as transformative: it restrains wrongdoing and stabilizes right conduct through divinely set boundaries.
The boundary-markers of Vārāṇasī—Asi and Varaṇā—central to Kāśī’s famed sacred geography.
No direct prescription; the verse underlines the value of entering and dwelling within the properly sanctified kṣetra.