Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31
वरणायास्तटे रम्ये गणौ हुंडनमुंडनौ । क्षेत्ररक्षां विधत्तस्तौ विघ्नस्तंभन कारकौ
varaṇāyāstaṭe ramye gaṇau huṃḍanamuṃḍanau | kṣetrarakṣāṃ vidhattastau vighnastaṃbhana kārakau
ณ ฝั่งอันรื่นรมย์แห่งแม่น้ำวรณา มีคณะคณะหนึ่งสองตน คือ หุณฑนะ และ มุณฑนะ ทั้งสองพิทักษ์เขตศักดิ์สิทธิ์ (เกษตร) และเป็นผู้ทำให้สิ่งกีดขวางหยุดนิ่งถูกตรึงไว้
Narrator (contextual; Kāśīkhaṇḍa discourse traditionally framed as Skanda’s teaching)
Tirtha: Varaṇā-taṭa (within Kāśī-kṣetra)
Type: ghat
Scene: On the serene riverbank of the Varaṇā, two formidable yet auspicious gaṇas—Huṃḍana and Muṃḍana—stand as guardians, their presence ‘pinning down’ obstacles at the threshold of the sacred precinct.
FAQs
Kāśī is portrayed as a divinely protected kṣetra where obstacles to dharma and pilgrimage are restrained by Śiva’s gaṇas.
The delightful bank of the river Varaṇā within the Kāśī-kṣetra.
No explicit rite is stated here; the verse establishes the protective presence of the gaṇas at the site.