Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 17
ततो विलोकयामास तदागमविनिर्गमौ । केन मार्गेण विशतो दुर्गमेतौ पतत्त्रिणौ
tato vilokayāmāsa tadāgamavinirgamau | kena mārgeṇa viśato durgametau patattriṇau
پھر وہ اُن کے آنے جانے کو دیکھنے لگا اور سوچا، “یہ دونوں پرندے اس ناقابلِ رسائی قلعہ میں کس راستے سے داخل ہوئے ہیں؟”
Skanda (contextual narration)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sages (frame assumed; not explicit in excerpt)
Scene: The hawk perches or hovers near the temple, eyes narrowed, watching the doorway and walls, puzzled by how the doves entered; the temple appears like a fortress with subtle luminous seams suggesting hidden passages.
FAQs
The holy refuge is depicted as ‘durgama’—hard to penetrate—symbolizing the inviolability of sacred protection.
Kāśī’s Śaiva sacred space is implied, where sanctuaries function like a ‘durga’ against harm.
None; this verse advances the narrative tension and the idea of sacred inaccessibility to violence.