Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 62
धूः स्वयं चापि गायत्री रज्जवस्तक्षकादयः । सारथिः प्रणवो यत्र क्रेंकारः प्रणवध्वनिः
dhūḥ svayaṃ cāpi gāyatrī rajjavastakṣakādayaḥ | sārathiḥ praṇavo yatra kreṃkāraḥ praṇavadhvaniḥ
وہاں دھوḥ خود بھی اور گایتری بھی موجود تھیں؛ لگامیں تکشک وغیرہ ناگ تھے؛ وہاں سارَتھی پرنَو ‘اوم’ تھا، اور پرنَو کی گونج ‘کریں’ منتر کی صورت میں سنائی دیتی تھی۔
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa context commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Scene: A divine chariot where Dhūḥ and Gāyatrī appear as personified goddesses; serpent-kings like Takṣaka form living reins; the charioteer is a luminous Oṁ-personification; the air vibrates with the bīja-sound ‘kreṃ’ as visible sound-waves.
FAQs
The Devi’s journey is framed as mantra-filled and Vedic—Gāyatrī and Oṁ signify that sacred sound itself guides and protects.
The Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s sacred geography underlies the narration, but this verse focuses on mantra-symbolism rather than a named tirtha.
Implicitly, reverence for Praṇava (Oṁ) and Gāyatrī-japa is suggested by the imagery, but no explicit rite is prescribed.