Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43
विश्वं भर्तुं समर्थोऽसि भरणाद्भैरवः स्मृतः । त्वत्तो भेष्यति कालोपि ततस्त्वं कालभैरवः
viśvaṃ bhartuṃ samartho'si bharaṇādbhairavaḥ smṛtaḥ | tvatto bheṣyati kālopi tatastvaṃ kālabhairavaḥ
تم کائنات کو سنبھالنے کی قدرت رکھتے ہو؛ سنبھالنے (بھَرَن) کے سبب تم ‘بھیرَو’ کہلاتے ہو۔ خود وقت بھی تم سے ڈرتا ہے؛ اسی لیے تم ‘کال بھیرَو’ ہو۔
Skanda (narrating Brahmā’s speech; deduced: Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Kālabhairava stands as cosmic guardian: one hand in protective gesture, others bearing weapons; behind him the universe appears upheld—stars, worlds—while a personified Kāla recoils in fear, emphasizing ‘kālo’pi bhīyate’.
FAQs
The divine guardian principle surpasses time and sustains cosmic order; surrender to dharma overcomes fear.
Kāśī, through the exaltation of Kālabhairava as its supreme kṣetrapāla.
No explicit rite; the verse provides name-derivation and theological status of Kālabhairava.