Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

क्षेत्ररक्षां प्रकुरुत उभेदेव्यौ महाबले । हसंत्यौ करतालीभिरन्योन्यं दोः प्रसारणात्

Transliteration

kṣetrarakṣāṃ prakuruta ubhedevyau mahābale | hasaṃtyau karatālībhiranyonyaṃ doḥ prasāraṇāt

Translation

Jene beiden machtvollen Göttinnen vollziehen den Schutz des heiligen Kṣetra; lachend klatschen sie in die Hände und strecken einander die Arme entgegen.

Word by Word

• kṣetra-rakṣām: protection of the sacred field
• kṣetra-rakṣām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + rakṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (kṣetrasya rakṣā)

• prakuruta: (you two) perform/do
• prakuruta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (आज्ञार्थ/imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, द्विवचन; परस्मैपद

• ubhe: both
• ubhe: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• devyau: goddesses
• devyau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• mahā-bale: O very powerful (ones)
• mahā-bale: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative/सम्बोधन), द्विवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः

• hasantyau: laughing
• hasantyau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: has (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• kara-tālībhiḥ: with hand-claps
• kara-tālībhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक) + tālī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (karayoḥ tālī = hand-clapping)

• anyonyaṃ: mutually
• anyonyaṃ: Kriya (Verbal adjunct/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyonya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: परस्परवाचक-अव्यय (reciprocal adverb)

• doḥ: of the arm(s)
• doḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: doh/dor (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; ‘भुज/बाहु’

• prasāraṇāt: from/through the stretching out (of arms)
• prasāraṇāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pra + sṛ (धातु) → prasāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान/हेतु), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Carmamuṇḍā–Mahāruṇḍā (kṣetra-rakṣikā pair)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two powerful Devīs facing each other, laughing; hands clapping (karatāla) and arms extended as if in a fierce celebratory dance that forms a protective barrier around the kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Carmamuṇḍā
• Mahāruṇḍā
• Kāśī-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s sanctity is upheld by coordinated divine guardianship; the devotee’s path is protected within the dharma-field.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī-kṣetra as a sacred precinct guarded by two powerful Devīs.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse describes the ongoing protective function (kṣetra-rakṣā) of the Devīs.