Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

शस्तौ कपोलौ वामाक्ष्याः पीनौ वृत्तौ समुन्नतौ । रोमशौ परुषौ निम्नौ निर्मांसौ परिवर्जयेत्

Transliteration

śastau kapolau vāmākṣyāḥ pīnau vṛttau samunnatau | romaśau paruṣau nimnau nirmāṃsau parivarjayet

Translation

In a woman of auspicious signs, cheeks are praised when they are full, rounded, and gently raised. But cheeks that are hairy, rough, sunken, or lacking flesh should be avoided as inauspicious.

Word by Word

• śastau: well-formed / commendable (two)
• śastau: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• kapolau: cheeks (two)
• kapolau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapola (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• vāmākṣyāḥ: of the left-eyed woman
• vāmākṣyāḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāmākṣī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular); समासः वाम + अक्षि (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः) → वामाक्षी ‘left-eyed (woman)’

• pīnau: full / plump (two)
• pīnau: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• vṛttau: round (two)
• vṛttau: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vṛtta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• samunnatau: raised / prominent (two)
• samunnatau: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samunnata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• romaśau: hairy (two)
• romaśau: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: romaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• paruṣau: rough (two)
• paruṣau: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• nimnau: sunken / depressed (two)
• nimnau: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nimna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual)

• nirmāṃsau: fleshless / without flesh (two)
• nirmāṃsau: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन (Dual); उपसर्ग-पूर्वपद ‘nir-’ + māṃsa

• parivarjayet: should avoid
• parivarjayet: Kriyā (Predicate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√vṛj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda instructing Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A refined Kāśī domestic-courtly setting where elders describe auspicious feminine facial signs; focus on full, rounded, gently raised cheeks contrasted with inauspicious sunken/rough traits.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (context)
• Skanda (context)
• Agastya (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames outer signs as traditional indicators of auspiciousness, encouraging discernment and avoidance of inauspicious traits.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate verse is physiognomic; its broader placement is within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, the Purāṇic glorification of Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual (snāna, dāna, japa) is prescribed here; it is a lakṣaṇa (signs/omens) instruction.