Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

उत्तरे तु महालक्ष्म्या हयकंठीकुठारधृक् । काशीविघ्रमहावृक्षांश्छिनत्ति प्रतिवासरम्

Transliteration

uttare tu mahālakṣmyā hayakaṃṭhīkuṭhāradhṛk | kāśīvighramahāvṛkṣāṃśchinatti prativāsaram

Translation

在摩诃拉克什弥之北，有持斧的海耶坎提；她日日砍伐那阻碍朝礼迦尸与福祉的巨大“障碍之树”。

Word by Word

• उत्तरे: in the north
• उत्तरे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘in the north (side/part)’

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/अन्वय (but/indeed)

• महालक्ष्म्याः: of Mahālakṣmī
• महालक्ष्म्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महालक्ष्मी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• हयकण्ठीकुठारधृक्: Hayakaṇṭhī, the axe-bearer
• हयकण्ठीकुठारधृक्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हयकण्ठी + कुठार + धृक् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (बहु-तत्पुरुष-समाहारः) ‘one who bears an axe (kuṭhāra) (and is) Hayakaṇṭhī’

• काशीविघ्रमहावृक्षान्: the great Kāśī-vighra trees
• काशीविघ्रमहावृक्षान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशीविघ्र + महावृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुषः) ‘great trees of Kāśī-vighra’

• छिनत्ति: cuts down
• छिनत्ति: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: छिद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• प्रतिवासरम्: every day
• प्रतिवासरम्: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रति + वासर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘each day’

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hayakaṇṭhī (north of Mahālakṣmī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: North of the Mahālakṣmī shrine stands Hayakaṇṭhī—horse-necked or horse-associated goddess—holding an axe, depicted felling dark, tree-like forms labeled as ‘vighnas’, while pilgrims pass safely toward Kāśī’s sacred sites.

Characters & Entities

• Mahālakṣmī
• Hayakaṇṭhī
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine protection in Kāśī is depicted as active and continual—Śakti destroys obstacles that block dharma and pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The shrine of Devī Hayakaṇṭhī situated north of the Mahālakṣmī area in Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse primarily maps the sacred geography and proclaims the Devī’s daily removal of obstacles.