Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

विशालाक्षो महाभीमः कुंडोदरमहोदरौ । रक्षंति पश्चिमद्वारं देहलीदेशसंस्थिताः

Transliteration

viśālākṣo mahābhīmaḥ kuṃḍodaramahodarau | rakṣaṃti paścimadvāraṃ dehalīdeśasaṃsthitāḥ

Translation

วิศาลากษะ มหาภีมะ และกุณโฑทร พร้อมด้วยมหโทระ—ผู้ประจำอยู่ในแดนเทหะลี—พิทักษ์ประตูทิศตะวันตก

Word by Word

• विशालाक्षः: one with large eyes
• विशालाक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशाल + अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (विशालाक्षी यस्य सः)

• महाभीमः: very formidable one
• महाभीमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + भीम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान् भीमः)

• कुंडोदरमहोदरौ: Kuṇḍodara and Mahodara
• कुंडोदरमहोदरौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुंडोदर + महोदर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; द्वन्द्वः (कुंडोदरश्च महोदरश्च)

• रक्षन्ति: protect
• रक्षन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• पश्चिमद्वारम्: the western gate
• पश्चिमद्वारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पश्चिम + द्वार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (पश्चिमं द्वारम्)

• देहलीदेशसंस्थिताः: stationed in the Dehalī region
• देहलीदेशसंस्थिताः: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देहली + देश + संस्थित (कृदन्त; सम्+√स्था, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त), विशेषण; तत्पुरुषः (देहलीदेशे संस्थिताः)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī western gate (Dehalī-deśa)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the western gate, in the threshold-land called Dehalī, stand Viśālākṣa (wide-eyed), Mahābhīma (very formidable), Kuṇḍodara and Mahodara (pot-bellied forms), forming a protective wall of gaṇas before the gateway arch.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Viśālākṣa
• Mahābhīma
• Kuṇḍodara
• Mahodara
• Dehalī (region)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The kṣetra is described as orderly and protected, encouraging faith that pilgrimage to Kāśī occurs under divine guardianship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī’s western gate and the Dehalī region connected with it.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is specified; it is a descriptive catalog of protectors.