Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

विरोम विशिरं शस्तं पाणिपृष्ठंसमुन्नतम् । वैधव्यहेतुरोमाढ्यं निर्मांसं स्नायुमत्त्यजेत्

Transliteration

viroma viśiraṃ śastaṃ pāṇipṛṣṭhaṃsamunnatam | vaidhavyaheturomāḍhyaṃ nirmāṃsaṃ snāyumattyajet

Translation

تُمدَح اليد الخالية من الشعر والتي لا تبرز فيها العروق؛ ويُعَدُّ ظهرُ الكف إذا رُفع برفق علامةَ يُمنٍ. أمّا الكفُّ كثيرُ الشعر—المعدود سببًا للترمّل—أو الكفُّ الهزيلُ الخالي من اللحم المليءُ بالأوتار، فيُتْرَك ويُجتَنَب.

Word by Word

• वि-रोम: hairless/with defective hair
• वि-रोम: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि (उपसर्ग) + रोम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (interpretable as ‘hairless/with abnormal hair’)

• वि-शिरम्: full of holes/porous (abnormally)
• वि-शिरम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि (उपसर्ग) + शिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• शस्तम्: commendable/approved
• शस्तम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शस्त (कृदन्त; शंस् धातु, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• पाणि-पृष्ठम्: the back of the hand
• पाणि-पृष्ठम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाणि (प्रातिपदिक) + पृष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• समुन्नतम्: highly raised
• समुन्नतम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्+उत्+नम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• वैधव्य-हेतु-रोम-आढ्यम्: rich in hair that is a cause of widowhood
• वैधव्य-हेतु-रोम-आढ्यम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैधव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + हेतु (प्रातिपदिक) + रोमन्/रोम (प्रातिपदिक) + आढ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• नि-मांसम्: fleshless
• नि-मांसम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि (उपसर्ग/निपात) + मांस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (negation/privation sense)

• स्नायु-मत्: sinewy
• स्नायु-मत्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्नायु (प्रातिपदिक) + मतुप् (प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• त्यजेत्: should avoid/abandon
• त्यजेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-kṣetra (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Generic

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Comparison of hand features: hairless and veinless hands praised; gently raised back of hand auspicious; excessively hairy (widowhood-cause) and fleshless sinewy hands to be avoided—shown as a didactic chart-like scene in a sacred setting.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It upholds the ideal of balanced, healthy form as auspicious and treats harshness/excess as a sign of potential suffering in worldly life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage belongs to the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s Kāśī-centered teaching milieu; no distinct tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is guidance in the style of lakṣaṇa (physiognomic) evaluation.