Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

द्वितीयावरणे चैव ये रक्षंति विनायकाः । अविमुक्तमिदं क्षेत्रं तानहं कथयाम्यतः

Transliteration

dvitīyāvaraṇe caiva ye rakṣaṃti vināyakāḥ | avimuktamidaṃ kṣetraṃ tānahaṃ kathayāmyataḥ

Translation

ഇപ്പോൾ രണ്ടാം ആവരണത്തിനുള്ളിൽ നിന്ന് ഈ അവിമുക്ത ക്ഷേത്രത്തെ കാക്കുന്ന വിനായകരെ ഞാൻ വിവരിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• dvitīya-āvaraṇe: in the second enclosure
• dvitīya-āvaraṇe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक) + āvaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• rakṣanti: protect
• rakṣanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √rakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• vināyakāḥ: Vināyakas
• vināyakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vināyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• avimuktam: Avimukta (never-abandoned)
• avimuktam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-vimukta (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-आधारित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; क्षेत्रम् इति विशेषणम्

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; क्षेत्रम् इति विशेषणम्

• kṣetram: sacred field
• kṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• tān: them
• tān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम; कर्म

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• kathayāmi: tell/describe
• kathayāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kath (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ataḥ: therefore/now
• ataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, हेत्वर्थ/तस्मात्-अर्थ (therefore/from this)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (second enclosure Vināyakas)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/interlocutor of Kāśīkhaṇḍa narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator-figure (Skanda) gestures to an inner ring around Avimukta, indicating the second enclosure where Vināyakas stand guard; the city appears as concentric sacred circles leading to a luminous center.

Characters & Entities

• Avimukta Kṣetra (Kāśī)
• Vināyakas
• Second enclosure (dvitīya-āvaraṇa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī is mapped as a protected sacred mandala with layered enclosures guarded by divine powers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Avimukta Kṣetra (Kāśī) as a whole, especially its second protective circuit (dvitīya-āvaraṇa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this verse serves as a transition to a new list of protective Vināyakas.