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

ഇങ്ങനെ മോക്ഷനിക്ഷേപരൂപമായ ക്ഷേത്രത്തെ കാത്ത് ദേവന്മാർ തൃപ്തി പ്രാപിച്ചു. ക്ഷേത്രത്തിന്റെ പടിഞ്ഞാറ് ഭാഗത്ത് ആ ദേഹലീ-വിനായകനെ (വാതിൽത്തറയിലെ ഗണേശനെ) സ്ഥാപിച്ചു.

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.