Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 81
तेपि स्वर्गौकसः सर्वे स्वंस्वं स्वर्गं ययुर्मुदा । स्कंद उवाच । इत्थं दुर्गाभवन्नाम तया देव्या महामुने । काश्यां सेव्या यथा सा च तच्छृणुष्व वदामि ते
tepi svargaukasaḥ sarve svaṃsvaṃ svargaṃ yayurmudā | skaṃda uvāca | itthaṃ durgābhavannāma tayā devyā mahāmune | kāśyāṃ sevyā yathā sā ca tacchṛṇuṣva vadāmi te
Ang lahat ng nananahan sa langit ay masayang nagbalik, bawat isa sa sariling kalangitan. Sinabi ni Skanda: “Sa gayon nakilala ang Dakilang Diyosa bilang Durgā, O dakilang muni. Ngayon pakinggan mo kung paano Siya dapat sambahin sa Kāśī—aking sasabihin sa iyo.”
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Mahāmuni (sage)
Scene: Skanda, as a divine teacher, addresses a great sage; in the background, devas depart joyfully to their heavens; the scene shifts toward Kāśī’s sacred skyline, foreshadowing instructions for Durgā worship.
FAQs
After divine protection is established, the text turns to right worship (sevā) in Kāśī—linking grace with disciplined devotion.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is explicitly highlighted as the place where Durgā is to be worshiped.
A transition is announced: Skanda will describe the proper mode of Durgā’s worship in Kāśī in the following passage.