Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 190
अद्य प्रभृति न क्षेत्रे मदीये शापवर्जिते । आवस क्रोधन मुने न वासे योग्यतात्र ते
adya prabhṛti na kṣetre madīye śāpavarjite | āvasa krodhana mune na vāse yogyatātra te
آج سے آگے، اے غضبناک مُنی، میرے شاپ سے پاک مقدّس کشتَر میں تُو سکونت نہ کر۔ اس دھام میں تیرے رہنے کی اہلیت نہیں۔
Śiva (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa context of divine governance of Kāśī)
Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Listener: Agastya (frame)
Scene: A stern, luminous Śiva (or the presiding kṣetra-devatā) issues a command of exclusion to a wrathful sage at the threshold of Kāśī’s sacred boundary; the city’s ghāṭs and spires glow behind, while the sage stands halted, chastened.
FAQs
Kāśī is upheld as a uniquely protected sacred realm; improper dispositions like uncontrolled anger are incompatible with residence in such a holy kṣetra.
Kāśī-kṣetra (Vārāṇasī), described as ‘śāpavarjita’—beyond the reach of ordinary curses.
No specific rite is prescribed; the verse emphasizes moral qualification (adhikāra) for dwelling in the sacred area.