Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 17
चिपिटाभिर्भवेद्दासी विरलाभिर्दरिद्रिणी । परस्परं समारूढाः पादांगुल्यो भवंति हि
cipiṭābhirbhaveddāsī viralābhirdaridriṇī | parasparaṃ samārūḍhāḥ pādāṃgulyo bhavaṃti hi
With flattened toes she is said to become a servant; with widely spaced toes, a poor woman. Indeed, the toes of the feet may also be found overlapping one another.
Skanda
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: A Kāśī setting where a teacher explains toe shapes; in the background, a charitable scene at a ghāṭa: feeding the poor and serving pilgrims, reframing ‘daridrya’ as a call to compassion. Overlapping toes are shown neutrally as anatomical variation.
FAQs
It presents social condition as karmically indicated, reinforcing the Purāṇic ethic of humility and dharma regardless of status.
The Kāśīkhaṇḍa context is the glorification of Kāśī, though this verse itself is an omen-description.
None.