Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

अपत्यदाऽनपत्यानां परा तत्रपुरेऽवसत् । काचित्करांघ्रिरेखाणां लक्षणानि चिकेति च

Transliteration

apatyadā'napatyānāṃ parā tatrapure'vasat | kācitkarāṃghrirekhāṇāṃ lakṣaṇāni ciketi ca

Translation

Eine andere lebte in jener Stadt als Spenderin von Nachkommenschaft für Kinderlose. Und eine weitere prüfte und deutete dort die glückverheißenden Zeichen in den Linien von Händen und Füßen.

Word by Word

• अपत्यदा: (a woman) who grants offspring
• अपत्यदा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपत्यदा (प्रातिपदिक; अपत्य + दा)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘अपत्यं ददाति’ इति (giver of offspring)

• अनपत्यानाम्: of the childless
• अनपत्यानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनपत्य (प्रातिपदिक; न + अपत्य)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘अनपत्यानाम्’ = of the childless

• परा: another (woman)
• परा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘अन्या/परा’ (another)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• पुरे: in the city
• पुरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘पुरे’ = in the city

• अवसत्: lived, dwelt
• अवसत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘अवसत्’ = dwelt/lived

• काचित्: some (woman)
• काचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काचित् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; किम्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अनिर्दिष्टा (some/one woman)

• कर-अङ्घ्रि-रेखाणाम्: of the lines (marks) of hands and feet
• कर-अङ्घ्रि-रेखाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्घ्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + रेखा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (रेखा), षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वसमास—‘करयोः अङ्घ्र्योः रेखाः’ = lines of hands and feet

• लक्षणानि: signs, characteristics
• लक्षणानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; कर्मपद

• चिकेति: recognized, discerned
• चिकेति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चिकेत् (धातु; √चित्/चेत् ‘to perceive/understand’)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘चिकेति’ = understood/recognized

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (frame; not explicit in the verse alone)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bustling Kāśī street near a ghat: a woman revered as a giver of progeny to the childless; another reads auspicious lines on palms and soles, surrounded by townsfolk and pilgrims.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kāśī, worldly hopes (like progeny) and traditional sign-reading are depicted within a sacred landscape, reminding that human aspirations unfold under divine order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī as the sanctified city; no particular tīrtha is named.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse describes roles rather than prescribing rites.