Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

अविमुक्ते स्थिता ये तु मम भक्ता मुमुक्षवः । मानापमानयोस्तुल्याः समलोष्टाश्मकांचनाः

Transliteration

avimukte sthitā ye tu mama bhaktā mumukṣavaḥ | mānāpamānayostulyāḥ samaloṣṭāśmakāṃcanāḥ

Translation

But those devotees of Mine who dwell in Avimukta, intent on liberation—equanimous in honor and dishonor, and seeing clod, stone, and gold as the same—are truly established on the path of release.

Word by Word

• अविमुक्ते: in Avimukta (Kāśī)
• अविमुक्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविमुक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative of place)

• स्थिताः: dwelling/standing
• स्थिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) → स्थित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृत्, विशेषण

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात/अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• मम: my
• मम: Shashthi-sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• भक्ताः: devotees
• भक्ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्त (प्रातिपदिक; √भज्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्तृपद

• मुमुक्षवः: desirous of liberation
• मुमुक्षवः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुमुक्षु (प्रातिपदिक; √मुच्, सन्-इच्छार्थ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (desiderative adjective)

• मानापमानयोः: of honor and dishonor
• मानापमानयोः: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मान + अपमान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), द्विवचन; द्वन्द्वसमास (मानः च अपमानः च)

• तुल्याः: equal (towards)
• तुल्याः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• समलोष्टाश्मकांचनाः: to whom clod, stone, and gold are the same
• समलोष्टाश्मकांचनाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम + लोष्ट + अश्मन् + काञ्चन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—येषां लोष्टः अश्मा काञ्चनं च समं (for whom clod, stone, gold are equal)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśī Khaṇḍa context often Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī or Purāṇic interlocutor within Kāśīkhaṇḍa frame (context-dependent)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene ascetic-devotee in the lanes of Avimukta, unmoved by garlands or insults, with clod, stone, and gold placed before him as symbols of equal regard; Kāśī’s ghāṭs and a distant Viśveśvara spire frame the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Avimukta (Kāśī/Varanasi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A liberation-seeker in Kāśī should cultivate equanimity—unmoved by praise or blame and unattached to wealth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta-kṣetra, the sacred heart of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the emphasis is on inner renunciation and sameness of vision.