Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6
द्विजातयो मुखाज्जाताः क्षत्रिया बाहुयन्त्रतः । ऊरुप्रदेशाद्वैश्यास्तु शूद्राः पादेष्वथाभवन्
dvijātayo mukhājjātāḥ kṣatriyā bāhuyantrataḥ | ūrupradeśādvaiśyāstu śūdrāḥ pādeṣvathābhavan
Les deux-fois-nés naquirent de la bouche ; les Kṣatriya, des bras ; les Vaiśya, de la région des cuisses ; et les Śūdra prirent naissance des pieds.
Mārkaṇḍeya
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: A didactic visualization of the cosmic person/body from which the four varṇas arise—mouth, arms, thighs, and feet—presented as a schematic sacred anthropology.
FAQs
It presents a symbolic, cosmic-body model of social functions, preparing for duties (dharma) assigned by role rather than mere status.
No single tīrtha is named; the teaching occurs within the Revā (Narmadā) sacred geography context of the Skanda Purāṇa.
None explicitly; the verse sets up the framework for role-based dharma described in later verses.