Shloka 64

Purusha-Strī-Lakṣaṇa (Samudrika-śāstra): Marks of Kingship, Wealth, Longevity, and Conduct

Devanagari script

छिन्नाग्रकूपनासः स्यादगम्यागमने रतः / दीर्घनासे च सौभाग्यं चौरश्चाकुञ्चितेन्द्रियः

Transliteration

chinnāgrakūpanāsaḥ syādagamyāgamane rataḥ / dīrghanāse ca saubhāgyaṃ cauraścākuñcitendriyaḥ

Translation

Aquel cuya punta de la nariz está cortada o cuya nariz está picada se dice inclinado a uniones carnales ilícitas. El de nariz larga es tenido por afortunado; mas quien tiene los sentidos contraídos (retraídos) es llamado ladrón.

Word by Word

• छिन्नाग्रकूपनासः: one whose nose has a cut tip and pit-like form
• छिन्नाग्रकूपनासः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छिन्न (कृदन्त; √छिद्) + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक) + कूप (प्रातिपदिक) + नास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (विशेष्यः: नासः)

• स्यात्: would be / is said to be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अगम्यागमने: in approaching the unapproachable / in improper approach
• अगम्यागमने: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अगम्य (कृदन्त; √गम्) + आगमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अगम्यस्य आगमनम्)

• रतः: attached, devoted
• रतः: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रत (कृदन्त; √रम्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) अर्थे ‘आसक्तः’

• दीर्घनासे: in (one with) a long nose
• दीर्घनासे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीर्घ (प्रातिपदिक) + नास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (दीर्घा नासा यस्य/दीर्घनासः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• सौभाग्यम्: good fortune
• सौभाग्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौभाग्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd; Nominative/Accusative), एकवचन

• चौरः: a thief
• चौरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चौर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• आकुञ्चितेन्द्रियः: having contracted/withdrawn senses
• आकुञ्चितेन्द्रियः: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आकुञ्चित (कृदन्त; √कुञ्च्) + इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (आकुञ्चितानि इन्द्रियाणि यस्य)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda/Vainateya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: External bodily signs are read as indicators of inner disposition (kāma/adharma tendencies) and fortune.

Vedantic Theme: Guṇa-karma interplay shaping embodied traits (prakṛti-lakṣaṇa) and social outcomes; caution against adharma.

Application: Use as a traditional diagnostic/cautionary lens in social dealings; ethically, treat as a prompt for self-restraint and character cultivation rather than fatalism.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bibhatsa

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.65 (lakṣaṇa/saṃudrika-style omens and bodily marks)

FAQs

What is the importance of physiognomy in the Garuda Purana?

This verse shows the text’s use of bodily signs (like the nose and sense-faculties) to infer tendencies such as illicit conduct, fortune, or theft—framing character as shaped by prior karma.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

By associating moral tendencies (illicit relations, stealing) with karmic imprint, it implies that such actions create results that follow the jīva beyond this life, influencing future experience and destiny.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat such signs as cautionary folklore rather than certainty, and focus on cultivating restraint, honesty, and sexual ethics—since conduct (karma) is what the Purana ultimately holds accountable.