Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

क्षेत्रस्य मोक्षनिक्षेप रक्षां निर्वृतिमाप्नुयुः । क्षेत्रस्य पश्चाद्दिग्भागे तं देहलिविनायकम्

Transliteration

kṣetrasya mokṣanikṣepa rakṣāṃ nirvṛtimāpnuyuḥ | kṣetrasya paścāddigbhāge taṃ dehalivināyakam

Translation

Thus they attained peace by guarding the kṣetra, the very repository of liberation. And on the western side of the sacred field they स्थापित Dehalī‑Vināyaka, Gaṇeśa at the threshold.

Word by Word

• kṣetrasya: of the sacred field (kṣetra)
• kṣetrasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter); षष्ठी (Genitive); एकवचन (Singular)

• mokṣa-nikṣepa-rakṣām: protection of the deposit/placement of liberation
• mokṣa-nikṣepa-rakṣām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa + nikṣepa + rakṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः—तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थः: ‘मोक्षस्य निक्षेपः’ तस्य रक्षा); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine); द्वितीया (Accusative); एकवचन (Singular)

• nirvṛtim: peace/bliss
• nirvṛtim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirvṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine); द्वितीया (Accusative); एकवचन (Singular)

• āpnuyuḥ: they would attain
• āpnuyuḥ: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लकारः—विधिलिङ् (Optative); पुरुषः—प्रथम (3rd); वचनम्—बहुवचन (Plural); परस्मैपदम्

• kṣetrasya: of the sacred field
• kṣetrasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter); षष्ठी (Genitive); एकवचन (Singular)

• paścāt: behind/after
• paścāt: Desha (Place/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paścāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—देशवाचक (indeclinable: behind/after)

• dig-bhāge: in the directional region
• dig-bhāge: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः—तत्पुरुष (दिशः भागः); पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine); सप्तमी (Locative); एकवचन (Singular)

• tam: that (him)
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine); द्वितीया (Accusative); एकवचन (Singular)

• dehali-vināyakam: Dehalī-Vināyaka (Gaṇeśa at the threshold)
• dehali-vināyakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dehalī + vināyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः—तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थः: देहल्याः विनायकः / threshold-Gaṇeśa); पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine); द्वितीया (Accusative); एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (contextual, Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dehalī-Vināyaka (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devas, satisfied after securing the mokṣa-kṣetra, install Dehalī-Vināyaka at a western gateway: Gaṇeśa seated at a threshold with modaka and pāśa, a protective aura forming an archway; behind him the sacred city glows, suggesting ‘mokṣa deposited’ within.

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Kāśī-kṣetra
• Mokṣa
• Dehalī-Vināyaka (Gaṇeśa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is celebrated as a unique repository of mokṣa, protected by divine order and threshold guardians.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dehalī-Vināyaka in Kāśī, associated with the western side/threshold-guardianship of the kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, reverence to Vināyaka before entry; the verse itself does not detail a specific vrata or offering.