Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

तत्पश्चिमेकूटदंत उदग्दुर्गविनायकात् । दुर्गोपसर्गसंहर्ता रक्षेत्क्षेत्रमिदं सदा

Transliteration

tatpaścimekūṭadaṃta udagdurgavināyakāt | durgopasargasaṃhartā rakṣetkṣetramidaṃ sadā

Translation

اس کے مغرب میں، دُرگ وِنایک کے شمال کی سمت، کوٹ دنت ہیں۔ وہ ہولناک آفتوں کو مٹا کر ہمیشہ اس مقدّس کھیتر کی حفاظت کرتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• tat: then/there
• tat: Sambandha (Deictic/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-पूर्वक निर्देश (that/then)

• paścime: in the west
• paścime: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paścima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• kūṭa-daṃtaḥ: Kūṭadanta
• kūṭa-daṃtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + danta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; नाम

• udak-durga-vināyakāt: from Udak/Udag-Durga-Vināyaka
• udak-durga-vināyakāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udak/udag (प्रातिपदिक) + durga (प्रातिपदिक) + vināyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादान

• durga-upasarga-saṃhartā: destroyer of perilous afflictions
• durga-upasarga-saṃhartā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durga (प्रातिपदिक) + upasarga (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃhartṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; ‘संहर्ता’ = संहर्तृ (destroyer)

• rakṣet: should protect
• rakṣet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √rakṣ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

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

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

• sadā: always
• sadā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kūṭadaṃta (Vināyaka) near Durgavināyaka in Avimukta circuit

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrow Kashi lane opening to a small shrine: Kūṭadaṃta Gaṇeśa stands as a vigilant guardian, with a protective aura pushing back shadowy ‘upasargas’. Nearby, a marker shrine of Durgavināyaka indicates the relative northward placement.

Characters & Entities

• Kūṭadaṃta
• Durgavināyaka
• Kāśī
• Vināyaka (Gaṇeśa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine guardianship in Kāśī is ongoing—Gaṇeśa is praised as a remover of dangerous afflictions and a constant protector of the kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kūṭadaṃta-Vināyaka, described in relation to Durgavināyaka within Kāśī’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No; the verse focuses on protective merit and the removal of peril (upasarga-saṃhāra).