Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

विरोम विशिरं शस्तं पाणिपृष्ठंसमुन्नतम् । वैधव्यहेतुरोमाढ्यं निर्मांसं स्नायुमत्त्यजेत्

Transliteration

viroma viśiraṃ śastaṃ pāṇipṛṣṭhaṃsamunnatam | vaidhavyaheturomāḍhyaṃ nirmāṃsaṃ snāyumattyajet

Translation

Gepriesen wird die Hand, die haarlos ist und keine hervortretenden Adern zeigt; auch gilt der sanft erhobene Handrücken als glückverheißend. Doch soll man eine übermäßig behaarte Hand—als Ursache der Witwenschaft angesehen—oder eine fleischlose, sehnige Hand meiden.

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.