Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29
नाके नवग्रहाः संति देशास्तस्याऽनवग्रहाः
nāke navagrahāḥ saṃti deśāstasyā'navagrahāḥ
سُرگ میں نو گرہوں کی قوتیں موجود ہیں؛ مگر اُس کے دیس کے سب خطّے نوگرہ کی آفت اور رکاوٹ سے پاک ہیں۔
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context typically Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśīkṣetra (Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Audience of the Kāśī-māhātmya discourse (not explicit)
Scene: A protective mandala-like image: Kāśī encircled by a luminous aura that repels nine planetary deities shown at a distance; within, pilgrims move unobstructed along ghāṭas and temples, symbolizing ‘anavagraha’.
FAQs
A supremely sacred realm is portrayed as spiritually protective—negative constraints symbolized by graha-forces do not bind its inhabitants.
Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is implied as the land whose sanctity neutralizes afflictive influences.
No explicit remedy or rite is given; the verse itself functions as praise of the place’s innate protective merit.