Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

महानिम्नेषु कच्छेषु मुनिवृत्त्या जनाः स्थिताः । अरण्यान्यवनिर्जाता ग्रामखर्वट वर्जिता

Transliteration

mahānimneṣu kaccheṣu munivṛttyā janāḥ sthitāḥ | araṇyānyavanirjātā grāmakharvaṭa varjitā

Translation

In tiefen Niederungen und sumpfigen Gegenden hielten sich die Menschen auf und lebten wie Asketen. Die Erde wurde zur Wildnis; Dörfer und Marktstädtchen wurden verlassen.

Word by Word

• महानिम्नेषु: in very low/deep (places)
• महानिम्नेषु: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महानिम्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् निम्नः = very low/deep)

• कच्छेषु: in marshes/lowlands
• कच्छेषु: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कच्छ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• मुनिवृत्त्या: by a sage-like livelihood
• मुनिवृत्त्या: Karana (Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + वृत्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (मुनेः वृत्तिः = mode of life of sages)

• जनाः: people
• जनाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• स्थिताः: stayed/dwelt
• स्थिताः: Kriya (Predicative state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-क्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अरण्यानि: forests
• अरण्यानि: Adhikarana (Location; implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अवनिर्जाता: earth-born/natural
• अवनिर्जाता: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अवनि (प्रातिपदिक) + जात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण; तत्पुरुष (अवनेः जातानि = sprung from the earth / natural)

• ग्रामखर्वटवर्जितानि: devoid of villages and hamlets
• ग्रामखर्वटवर्जितानि: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक) + खर्वट (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्जित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण; तत्पुरुष (ग्रामाश्च खर्वटाश्च तैः वर्जितानि = devoid of villages and hamlets)

Speaker

Skanda

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A desolate landscape: empty streets of a deserted town, overgrown paths, marshy lowlands with a few ascetic-like survivors; huts replaced by wilderness; a sense of silence and abandonment.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In calamity, worldly structures fall away, and life is forced toward simplicity—echoing the purāṇic ideal that dharma can be preserved through austerity and restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it provides the background that leads seekers toward the sanctity of Avimukta/Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal ritual; the verse highlights an ascetic mode of subsistence (muni-vṛtti).