Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

आपादतलमारभ्य यावन्मौलिरुहं क्रमात् । शुभाशुभानि वक्ष्यामि लक्षणानि मुने शृणु

Transliteration

āpādatalamārabhya yāvanmauliruhaṃ kramāt | śubhāśubhāni vakṣyāmi lakṣaṇāni mune śṛṇu

Translation

Beginning from the soles of the feet and proceeding in order up to the hair upon the crown, I shall declare the auspicious and inauspicious bodily marks. O sage, listen.

Word by Word

• ā: up to, as far as
• ā: Upasarga (Preverb/उपसर्ग)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā (उपसर्ग)
• Form: उपसर्ग (prefix/preverb)

• pāda-talam: sole of the foot
• pāda-talam: Apadana/Avadhi (Limit/अवधि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (pādasya talam = sole of the foot)

• ārabhya: starting from
• ārabhya: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-√rabh (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), ‘having begun/starting from’

• yāvat: up to, until
• yāvat: Avadhi (Limit/अवधि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (correlative adverb), ‘as far as/until’

• mauli-ruham: crown-hair (hair on the head)
• mauli-ruham: Apadana/Avadhi (Limit/अवधि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mauli (प्रातिपदिक) + ruha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (mauler ruham = hair on the crown)

• kramāt: in sequence
• kramāt: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb), ‘in order/step by step’

• śubha-aśubhāni: auspicious and inauspicious (things)
• śubha-aśubhāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक) + aśubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (good and bad)

• vakṣyāmi: I shall describe
• vakṣyāmi: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• lakṣaṇāni: marks, characteristics
• lakṣaṇāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (Address/संबोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/संबोधन), एकवचन

• śṛṇu: listen
• śṛṇu: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni/ṛṣi (addressed as ‘mune’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A seated sage listens as the narrator outlines a head-to-toe sequence for reading bodily marks; the composition emphasizes a vertical ‘from feet to crown’ axis, with a calm teaching atmosphere.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya
• Kāśī (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic teaching is given in an ordered, contemplative way—inviting disciplined listening and discernment of auspiciousness (śubha) and its opposite (aśubha).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate setting is the Kāśīkhaṇḍa (Varanasi/Kāśī) tradition, though this verse itself introduces a teaching rather than naming a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse is an instruction to listen as the marks are explained sequentially.