Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 98

Devanagari script

गोक्षीरसन्निभाः स्निग्धा द्वात्रिंशद्दशनाः शुभाः । अधस्तादुपरिष्टाच्च समाः स्तोकसमुन्नताः

Transliteration

gokṣīrasannibhāḥ snigdhā dvātriṃśaddaśanāḥ śubhāḥ | adhastādupariṣṭācca samāḥ stokasamunnatāḥ

Translation

Zähne, die der Farbe nach der Kuhmilch gleichen, wohlglänzend sind und zweiunddreißig an der Zahl, gelten als glückverheißend. Sind sie oben und unten gleichmäßig und nur wenig hervortretend, werden sie als günstig angesehen.

Word by Word

• गोक्षीरसन्निभाः: resembling cow’s milk
• गोक्षीरसन्निभाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गोक्षीर + सन्निभ (प्रातिपदिक; सन्निभ = सदृश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• स्निग्धाः: smooth/oily
• स्निग्धाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्निग्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• द्वात्रिंशत्-दशनाः: having thirty-two teeth
• द्वात्रिंशत्-दशनाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वात्रिंशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + दशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचनम्; द्विगु-समासः; विशेषणम्

• शुभाः: auspicious
• शुभाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• अधस्तात्: below
• अधस्तात्: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/Place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधस् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययम्; क्रियाविशेषणम्/देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of place: below)

• उपरिष्टात्: above
• उपरिष्टात्: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/Place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उपरि (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययम्; क्रियाविशेषणम्/देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of place: above)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• समाः: even/level
• समाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• स्तोक-समुन्नताः: slightly raised
• स्तोक-समुन्नताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्तोक (प्रातिपदिक) + समुन्नत (प्रातिपदिक; सम्+उद्+√नम्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचनम्; कर्मधारय-समासः; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda instructing Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A calm didactic scene: a learned narrator in Kāśī describes auspicious features—milk-white, glossy, even teeth—while pilgrims listen near a ghat or temple courtyard.

Characters & Entities

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

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic lakṣaṇa lore treats clarity, cleanliness, and proportion as outward signs of auspicious destiny.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it is embedded in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa compilation associated with Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive of auspicious bodily marks.