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
“Từ hôm nay trở đi, hỡi vị hiền giả nóng giận, ngươi không được cư trú trong Thánh Địa của Ta, nơi không vướng lời nguyền. Trong chốn này, ngươi không xứng đáng ở lại.”
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.