Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

अविमुक्तमिदं क्षेत्रमपि ब्रह्मांडमध्यगम् । ब्रह्मांडमध्ये न भवेत्पंचक्रोशप्रमाणतः

Transliteration

avimuktamidaṃ kṣetramapi brahmāṃḍamadhyagam | brahmāṃḍamadhye na bhavetpaṃcakrośapramāṇataḥ

Translation

ഈ അവിമുക്ത പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രം ബ്രഹ്മാണ്ഡത്തിന്റെ മദ്ധ്യഭാഗത്തിലും സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നു. ബ്രഹ്മാണ്ഡത്തിനുള്ളിൽ അഞ്ചു ക്രോശം അളവിന് തുല്യമായ മറ്റൊന്നുമില്ല.

Word by Word

• avimuktam: not abandoned; un-forsaken
• avimuktam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-vimukta (कृदन्त; √muc मुच् + vi + kta, नञ्-पूर्वक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) विशेषण

• idam: this
• idam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम विशेषण

• kṣetram: sacred field; holy region
• kṣetram: Karma/Pradhana (Object/Theme)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• api: also; even
• api: Sambandha/Particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-भाव (also/even)

• brahmāṇḍa-madhya-gam: situated in the middle of the cosmic egg
• brahmāṇḍa-madhya-gam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahmāṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक) + ga (कृदन्त; √gam गम् + ड/अच्, ‘going/located’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषार्थ: ‘ब्रह्माण्डस्य मध्ये’), कृदन्त-विशेषण

• brahmāṇḍa-madhye: in the middle of the universe
• brahmāṇḍa-madhye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmāṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘ब्रह्माण्डस्य मध्ये’)

• na: not
• na: Negation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• bhavet: would be; could exist
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• paṃca-krośa-pramāṇataḥ: by the measure of five krośas
• paṃca-krośa-pramāṇataḥ: Hetu/Measure (Cause/Measure)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paṃca (संख्या) + krośa (प्रातिपदिक) + pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + -tas (तसिल्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त), हेतौ/परिमाण-निदर्शनार्थे ‘प्रमाणतः’; तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारय/षष्ठी-भाव: ‘पञ्चक्रोशस्य प्रमाणम्’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta / Kāśī pañcakrośī-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages / a brāhmaṇa addressee (dvija) in immediate address-pattern

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic ‘brahmāṇḍa’ diagram with Kāśī/Avimukta as the luminous central lotus; a five-krośa ring encircles Viśveśvara’s shrine, with pilgrims circumambulating like planets around a fixed axis.

Characters & Entities

• Avimukta
• Brahmāṇḍa
• Kāśī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī (Avimukta) is proclaimed uniquely central and incomparable among sacred regions, emphasizing its supreme sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta-kṣetra—Kāśī/Varanasi, especially its pañcakrośa sacred circuit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; the verse establishes the sacred measure and uniqueness of the pañcakrośa region.