Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49
मा गच्छंत्विह वै नागा नराः स्वस्था भवंत्वितः । मयि प्रशासति क्षोणीं सुराः स्वस्था भवंत्विति
mā gacchaṃtviha vai nāgā narāḥ svasthā bhavaṃtvitaḥ | mayi praśāsati kṣoṇīṃ surāḥ svasthā bhavaṃtviti
“ناگ یہاں سے نہ جائیں؛ لوگ یہیں امن سے رہیں۔ جب تک میں زمین کی حکمرانی کرتا ہوں، سُر (دیوتا) بھی اپنے اپنے مقام میں امن سے رہیں۔”
Royal proclamation / narrator reporting Divodāsa’s order
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Residents and beings of Kāśī (humans, nāgas) and, by implication, devas
Scene: A proclamation emphasizing protection: nāgas remain, people remain secure; devas remain secure in their own sphere. Visualize nāga figures near water/underground entrances, citizens calm, and a celestial band of devas at peace.
FAQs
A dharmic ruler prioritizes protection and stability for all beings—humans and other realms—so that each may remain ‘svastha’ (in rightful well-being).
Kāśī is the governing sacred space in the narrative; the verse supports Kāśī’s portrayal as a realm of ordered dharma under rightful rule.
No ritual is specified; it is an administrative proclamation expressing rājadharma.