Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16
मुखाच्च ब्राह्मणा जाता बाहुभ्यः क्षत्रिया मम । वैश्या ऊरुसमुद्भूताः पद्भ्यां शूद्रा बभूविरे
mukhācca brāhmaṇā jātā bāhubhyaḥ kṣatriyā mama | vaiśyā ūrusamudbhūtāḥ padbhyāṃ śūdrā babhūvire
From My mouth the Brāhmaṇas were born; from My arms, the Kṣatriyas; the Vaiśyas arose from the thighs; and from the feet, the Śūdras came into being.
Brahmā (narrating a varṇa-origin schema)
Listener: Nārada
Scene: Cosmic body imagery: from the creator’s mouth emerge brāhmaṇas with Vedic fire and manuscripts; from arms, kṣatriyas with bow and armor; from thighs, vaiśyas with grain and scales; from feet, śūdras with tools—depicted respectfully as coordinated limbs.
FAQs
Society is portrayed as an integrated organism where distinct functions arise in an ordered way, ideally serving dharma and collective harmony.
No tīrtha is named; the verse provides cosmological background often used to frame dharma within tīrtha narratives.
None; it is descriptive of origins and social function rather than prescribing a rite.
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