Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

रक्ता व्यक्ता गभीरा च स्निग्धा पूर्णा च वर्तुला । कररेखांगना याः स्याच्छुभा भाग्यानुसारतः

Transliteration

raktā vyaktā gabhīrā ca snigdhā pūrṇā ca vartulā | kararekhāṃganā yāḥ syācchubhā bhāgyānusārataḥ

Translation

A woman whose lines upon the hand are reddish, clearly marked, deep, smooth, full, and rounded is deemed auspicious, yielding results in accordance with her good fortune.

Word by Word

• raktā: red
• raktā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rakta (कृदन्त; √rañj रञ्ज्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) used adjectivally

• vyaktā: clear/manifest
• vyaktā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyakta (कृदन्त; √vyaj व्यज्/√vac व्यक्त- in sense 'manifest')
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) used adjectivally

• gabhīrā: deep
• gabhīrā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gabhīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• snigdhā: smooth/oily
• snigdhā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: snigdha (कृदन्त; √snih स्निह्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) used adjectivally

• pūrṇā: full
• pūrṇā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (कृदन्त; √pṝ पूॄ/√pṛ पूर्ण- 'filled')
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) used adjectivally

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• vartulā: round
• vartulā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vartula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kara-rekhā-aṅganā: the woman (whose) hand-lines (are such)
• kara-rekhā-aṅganā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक) + rekhā (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅganā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (करस्य रेखा) + तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-समासः (रेखाङ्गना = रेखा-युक्ता अङ्गना/स्त्री)

• yāḥ: who/which (women)
• yāḥ: Karta (relative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• syāt: would be/is to be
• syāt: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śubhā: auspicious
• śubhā: Viśeṣya-pradhāna (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicate adjective)

• bhāgya-anusārataḥ: according to (her) fortune
• bhāgya-anusārataḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhāgya (प्रातिपदिक) + anusāra (प्रातिपदिक) + -tas (तसिल्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिलन्त (ablatival adverb) = 'अनुसारतः'; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (भाग्यस्य अनुसारः)

Speaker

Skanda

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A learned brāhmaṇa/ācārya gently examines a woman’s palm lines—reddish, clear, deep, smooth, full, rounded—while Kāśī’s ghāṭa skyline and a distant Viśvanātha śikhara frame the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Skanda
• Agastya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Auspicious bodily signs are presented as indicators of dharmic fortune (bhāgya) and the fruition of past merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, though this verse itself focuses on auspicious signs rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive (lakṣaṇa) rather than prescriptive (vidhi).