Shloka 7
Lakṣaṇas of Men: Feet, Shanks, Hair, Genitals, Abdomen, and Lines of Longevity
Forehead & Palm
स्थूललिङ्गो दरिद्रः स्याद्दुख्येकवृष्णी भवेत् / विषमेस्त्रीचञ्चलो वै नृपः स्याद्वृषणे समे
sthūlaliṅgo daridraḥ syāddukhyekavṛṣṇī bhavet / viṣamestrīcañcalo vai nṛpaḥ syādvṛṣaṇe same
One whose generative organ is large becomes poor and lives in suffering; one who has only a single testicle becomes unhappy. If the testicles are uneven, he becomes fickle toward women; but if they are even, he becomes a king.
Lord Vishnu (in discourse to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Concept: Physical ‘balance/imbalance’ is mapped to psychological and social destiny (poverty, sorrow, fickleness, rulership).
Vedantic Theme: Prārabdha karma expressing as both body and temperament (vāsanā), shaping social role.
Application: Cultivate steadiness (dhairya) and fidelity; treat ‘balance’ as an ethical ideal—self-control and fairness—rather than mere physiology.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: sections linking conduct (strī-saṅga, indriya-nigraha) to downfall or rise; Garuda Purana: rāja-dharma passages where stability and restraint are praised
FAQs
This verse treats certain physical characteristics as indicators of prior karma and likely life outcomes—poverty, sorrow, sexual restlessness, or rulership—showing a karmic-omen framework used in parts of the text.
It links specific embodied conditions with corresponding life results, implying that the body can reflect accumulated karmic tendencies and their fruits in worldly life (bhoga).
Read it as a traditional karmic-omen teaching rather than a basis for judging others; the ethical takeaway is to focus on dharma and self-restraint, since conduct is emphasized across the Purana as shaping future outcomes.