Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

अविमुक्तेऽमृते क्षेत्रे येर्चयंत्यादिकेशवम् । तेऽमृतत्वं भजंत्येव सर्वदुःखविवर्जिताः

Transliteration

avimukte'mṛte kṣetre yercayaṃtyādikeśavam | te'mṛtatvaṃ bhajaṃtyeva sarvaduḥkhavivarjitāḥ

Translation

അവിമുക്തമെന്ന അമൃതക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ ആദികേശവനെ അർച്ചിക്കുന്നവർ നിശ്ചയമായും അമൃതത്വം പ്രാപിച്ച് സർവ്വദുഃഖങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നു വിമുക്തരാകും.

Word by Word

• अविमुक्ते: in Avimukta (the never-abandoned place)
• अविमुक्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अविमुक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘क्षेत्रे’

• अमृते: immortal, nectar-like (holy)
• अमृते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘क्षेत्रे’

• क्षेत्रे: in the sacred field (kṣetra)
• क्षेत्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• अर्चयन्ति: worship
• अर्चयन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• आदिकेशवम्: Ādi-Keśava
• आदिकेशवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदि + केशव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अमृतत्वम्: immortality
• अमृतत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमृतत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• भजन्ति: attain, partake of
• भजन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• एव: indeed, certainly
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (restrictive/emphatic particle)

• सर्वदुःखविवर्जिताः: free from all sorrow
• सर्वदुःखविवर्जिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + दुःख + विवर्जित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वं दुःखं विवर्जिताः; विशेषणं ‘ते’

Speaker

Bindumādhava (continuation of speech)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-kṣetra (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims in Avimukta offer worship to Ādi-keśava; the sacred city appears as a luminous, timeless field—ghats, temples, and a sense of ‘deathlessness’—while devotees emerge serene, unburdened by sorrow.

Characters & Entities

• Avimukta Kṣetra (Kāśī)
• Ādikeshava
• Amṛtatva
• Duḥkha-nivṛtti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī (Avimukta) is affirmed as a mokṣa-field where sincere worship yields amṛtatva and relief from suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta-kṣetra (Kāśī/Varanasi) and the worship of Ādikeshava therein.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Arcana (worship) of Ādikeshava in Avimukta-kṣetra.