Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

वंशवेतसपत्राभो गजरोमोच्चनासिकः । विकटः कुटिलाकारो लंबगल्लस्तथाऽशुभः

Transliteration

vaṃśavetasapatrābho gajaromoccanāsikaḥ | vikaṭaḥ kuṭilākāro laṃbagallastathā'śubhaḥ

Translation

যাহা বাঁশ বা বেতপাতার মতো, হাতির মতো রোমযুক্ত ও উঁচু ‘নাসিকা’ (উদ্গম) বিশিষ্ট; বিকট, কুটিলাকৃতি এবং ঝুলন্ত ‘গাল’যুক্ত—তাও অশুভ।

Word by Word

• वंशवेतसपत्राभः: having the look of bamboo/reed leaves
• वंशवेतसपत्राभः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वंश-वेतस-पत्र-आभ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (वंशवेतसयोः पत्रस्य आभा/आभः इव)

• गजरोमोच्चनासिकः: with elephant-like hair and a high nose
• गजरोमोच्चनासिकः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गज-रोम-उच्च-नासिका (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (गजस्य रोम इव; उच्चा नासिका यस्य)

• विकटः: hideous, grotesque
• विकटः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विकट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कुटिलाकारः: having a crooked shape
• कुटिलाकारः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुटिल-आकार (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (कुटिलः आकारः यस्य)

• लंबगल्लः: with hanging cheeks
• लंबगल्लः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लम्ब-गल्ल (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (लम्बौ गल्लौ यस्य)

• तथा: thus, also
• तथा: Sambandha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (adverb: 'thus/also')

• अशुभः: inauspicious, foul
• अशुभः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Symbolic botanical and animal metaphors juxtaposed: bamboo/cane leaf, elephant-hair motif, and distorted facial-feature metaphors rendered as abstract warning emblems in a manuscript illustration.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It continues a descriptive catalog of inauspicious markers; its role is narrative/traditional rather than a pilgrimage injunction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.