Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 94

Devanagari script

समं समांसं सुस्निग्धं स्वामोदं वर्तुलं मुखम् । जनेतृवदनच्छायं धन्यानामिह जायते

Transliteration

samaṃ samāṃsaṃ susnigdhaṃ svāmodaṃ vartulaṃ mukham | janetṛvadanacchāyaṃ dhanyānāmiha jāyate

Translation

Ein Gesicht, das gleichmäßig und wohlgenährt ist, glatt und glänzend, von natürlichem Duft und rund—mit dem sanften Schimmer eines mütterlichen Antlitzes—gilt hier als Kennzeichen der Begnadeten.

Word by Word

• samaṃ: even / symmetrical
• samaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd: Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular)

• samāṃsaṃ: fleshy / with flesh
• samāṃsaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa-māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; उपसर्ग/उपपद ‘sa-’ (सहित) + māṃsa

• susnigdhaṃ: very smooth / glossy
• susnigdhaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-snigdha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; उपपद ‘su-’ + snigdha

• svāmodaṃ: having its own fragrance
• svāmodaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva-āmōda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः sva + āmoda

• vartulaṃ: round
• vartulaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vartula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• mukham: face
• mukham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• janetṛ: of the begetter / father
• janetṛ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: janetṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular) (समासपूर्वपद-रूप)

• vadana: face
• vadana: Samāsa-aṅga
• Type: Noun
• Root: vadana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (समासाङ्ग)

• acchāyaṃ: not resembling / without the likeness
• acchāyaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-cchāyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुषः a- + chāyā ‘shadow/semblance’

• janetṛvadanacchāyaṃ: not having the likeness of the father’s face
• janetṛvadanacchāyaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (of mukham)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: janetṛ + vadana + a-cchāyā (प्रातिपदिकसमूह)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) janetṛ-vadana + (नञ्-तत्पुरुष) acchāya

• dhanyānām: of the fortunate (people)
• dhanyānām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• iha: here
• iha: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Locative setting)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• jāyate: is born / arises
• jāyate: Kriyā
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda instructing Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Portrait-like focus on a symmetrical, rounded, lustrous face with a soft maternal radiance; floral elements suggest natural fragrance; Kāśī’s sacred-town atmosphere subtly present.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (context)
• Skanda (context)
• Agastya (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Auspiciousness is portrayed as harmony, softness, and purity—qualities that symbolically mirror inner well-being and good fortune.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse itself is not a tīrtha-praise; it sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s larger Kāśī-māhātmya framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive (lakṣaṇa), not prescriptive (vidhi).