Shloka 20
पुंसां क्रिया-विभागः, संस्काराः, नामकरणम्, विवाहविधानम्
यस्याश् च लोमशे जङ्घे गुल्फौ यस्यास् तथोन्नतौ कूपो यस्या हसन्त्याश् च गण्डयोस् तां च नोद्वहेत्
yasyāś ca lomaśe jaṅghe gulphau yasyās tathonnatau kūpo yasyā hasantyāś ca gaṇḍayos tāṃ ca nodvahet
One should not marry a woman whose shanks are excessively hairy, whose ankles are unduly prominent, or whose cheeks form deep hollows when she laughs.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya, within dharma/ācāra teaching)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Gṛhastha-dharma: bodily ‘lakṣaṇa’ (marks) regarded as inauspicious for marriage
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Traditional physiognomic signs are invoked as pragmatic cautions for preserving household concord and perceived auspiciousness.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use the underlying intent—seeking a stable, healthy partnership—while grounding judgments in compassion, consent, and contemporary knowledge.
Vishishtadvaita: Household order is treated as a supportive ‘aṅga’ for spiritual pursuit; bodily life is integrated into dharma as service, not denied.
FAQs
Here, lakṣaṇas are presented as practical criteria used in traditional dharma literature for assessing marital suitability, reflecting social norms aimed at household stability rather than metaphysical doctrine.
In this chapter’s instructional mode, Parāśara frames marriage as a dharmic institution of the gṛhastha stage, giving do’s-and-don’ts that are meant to support orderly family life and social continuity.
Even when the verse is social-ethical, it sits within the Purana’s broader vision where dharma sustains the cosmos under Vishnu’s sovereignty; household order is treated as one layer of that universal order.