Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 6
नियन्ता सर्वभूतानां योसौ दण्डधरः प्रभुः । स किं दंडयितुं नालमेकं तं ग्रावमात्रकम्
niyantā sarvabhūtānāṃ yosau daṇḍadharaḥ prabhuḥ | sa kiṃ daṃḍayituṃ nālamekaṃ taṃ grāvamātrakam
وہ رب جو تمام مخلوقات کا نگران ہے، عصا بردار حاکم—کیا وہ اس ایک کو بھی سزا دینے پر قادر نہیں جو محض ایک کنکر بھر ہے؟
Unnamed sage (context: speaking to Lopāmudrā)
Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A cosmic Śiva-like sovereign holding a staff (daṇḍa), seated as judge of beings; Kāśī’s ghāṭs and a luminous sacred boundary implied; a tiny pebble at his feet symbolizes even the smallest offender.
FAQs
Divine governance is absolute; no obstructing force is too small or too great to be restrained by the Lord.
Kāśī/Avimukta by implication, since the discourse is within Kāśīkhaṇḍa and concerns the Lord’s protecting power.
None; it asserts a doctrine of divine protection and justice.