Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 61
अव्यात्सदा दरदरीं जगदीश्वरी नो नाभिं नभोगतिरजात्वथ पृष्ठदेशम् । पायात्कटिं च विकटा परमास्फिचौ नो गुह्यं गुहारणिरपानमपाय हंत्री
avyātsadā daradarīṃ jagadīśvarī no nābhiṃ nabhogatirajātvatha pṛṣṭhadeśam | pāyātkaṭiṃ ca vikaṭā paramāsphicau no guhyaṃ guhāraṇirapānamapāya haṃtrī
جگدیشوری ہمیشہ ہماری حفاظت کرے—دَرَدَری کے روپ میں ہماری ناف کی؛ اور نَبھوگَتِرَجا کے روپ میں ہماری پیٹھ کی۔ وِکَٹا دیوی ہماری کمر اور بلند کولہوں کی نگہبانی کرے؛ اور گُہارَنی—بدشگونی و آفت کی ہانکنے والی—ہمارے پوشیدہ اعضا اور اَپان (نیچے کی جانب چلنے والی حیاتی قوت) کی حفاظت کرے۔
Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context, typically addressing Agastya)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Devī Jagadīśvarī as a protective field around the pilgrim’s lower torso: Daradarī guarding the navel like a whirling protective knot; Nabho-gatirajā guarding the back with sky-like radiance; Vikaṭā stabilizing waist and hips with formidable presence; Guhāraṇi shielding the secret parts and regulating apāna, crushing misfortune beneath her feet.
FAQs
It teaches śaraṇāgati (taking refuge) in Jagadīśvarī through aṅga-prārthanā—invoking the Devī’s names to sanctify and protect the body and vital energies.
The verse participates in the Kāśī-māhātmya atmosphere of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, where Devī’s forms are praised as protecting presences in sacred Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), even when a single tirtha is not explicitly named in this line.
No direct injunction (snāna, dāna, vrata) is stated here; the practice implied is japa/recitation of Devī-nāmas as a protective prayer over the body and prāṇic functions (especially apāna).