Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

कूणिताक्षो गणाध्यक्षस्त्रितुंडादीश दिक्स्थितः । महाश्मशानं सततं पायाद्दुष्टकुदृष्टितः

Transliteration

kūṇitākṣo gaṇādhyakṣastrituṃḍādīśa diksthitaḥ | mahāśmaśānaṃ satataṃ pāyādduṣṭakudṛṣṭitaḥ

Translation

Que Kūṇitākṣa, seigneur des Gaṇas, établi dans la direction présidée par Tritūṇḍa et les autres Vināyakas, protège sans cesse le grand champ de crémation de Kāśī du mauvais œil et du regard malveillant des méchants.

Word by Word

• कूणिताक्षः: one with squinted/contracted eyes
• कूणिताक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कूणित + अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कूणितम् अक्षि यस्य)

• गणाध्यक्षः: leader of the gaṇas
• गणाध्यक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गण + अध्यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गणानाम् अध्यक्षः)

• त्रितुण्ड: three-trunked
• त्रितुण्ड: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि + तुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (त्रीणि तुण्डानि यस्य)

• आदीशः: lord, ruler
• आदीशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदीश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• दिक्स्थितः: situated in the directions
• दिक्स्थितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिक् + स्थित (स्था धातु, क्त/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः (दिक्षु स्थितः); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त

• महाश्मशानम्: the great cremation-ground
• महाश्मशानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + श्मशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महच्च तत् श्मशानम्)

• सततम्: always, continually
• सततम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सतत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• पायात्: may (he) protect
• पायात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• दुष्टकुदृष्टितः: from evil and bad glances
• दुष्टकुदृष्टितः: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुष्ट + कु + दृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (दृष्टि), पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः; पञ्चमी-प्रयोगः (—तः = from)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāśmaśāna (Kāśī)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/śaunaka-ādi audience (frame) or Kāśī-māhātmya interlocutors (internal)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A protective Vināyaka (Kūṇitākṣa) stands vigilant at the edge of Kāśī’s great cremation-ground, facing outward to repel the ‘evil eye’; behind him rise funeral pyres, sacred ash, and the glow of liberation, while directional Vināyakas are implied as a mandala around the kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Kūṇitākṣa (Vināyaka)
• Gaṇeśa (Gaṇādhyakṣa)
• Tritūṇḍa
• Mahāśmaśāna (Kāśī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is portrayed as divinely guarded; remembrance of Vināyaka’s protective forms counters malice and negative influences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Mahāśmaśāna—the great cremation-ground of Kāśī, a key Śaiva sacred landmark.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse functions as a protective invocation (rakṣā) of Vināyaka.