Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

तुलामानाकृतीरेखे वणिक्पत्नीत्वहेतुके । गजवाजिवृषाकाराः करे वामे मृगीदृशाम्

Transliteration

tulāmānākṛtīrekhe vaṇikpatnītvahetuke | gajavājivṛṣākārāḥ kare vāme mṛgīdṛśām

Translation

Des lignes ayant la forme d’une balance ou d’une règle de mesure sont cause de devenir l’épouse d’un marchand. Et des figures d’éléphant, de cheval ou de taureau sur la main gauche d’une femme aux yeux de biche sont aussi tenues pour des signes notables.

Word by Word

• tulā-māna-ākṛtī-rekhe: two lines having the form of a balance/measure
• tulā-māna-ākṛtī-rekhe: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tulā (प्रातिपदिक) + māna (प्रातिपदिक) + ākṛti (प्रातिपदिक) + rekhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया/संबोधन, द्विवचन (rekhe = rekhā-dual); बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (तुला-मानेन/तुला-माना-आकृतिः यस्याः) विशेषण-सम्बन्धः

• vaṇik-patnītva-hetuke: causing (one to become) a merchant’s wife
• vaṇik-patnītva-hetuke: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaṇij (प्रातिपदिक) + patnītva (प्रातिपदिक; -tva) + hetu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया/संबोधन, द्विवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; ‘वणिक्पत्नीत्वस्य हेतू’ इति (causal qualifier of rekhe)

• gaja-vāji-vṛṣa-ākārāḥ: forms resembling elephant, horse, and bull
• gaja-vāji-vṛṣa-ākārāḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaja (प्रातिपदिक) + vājin (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ākāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (गज-वाजि-वृष-आकाराः = those having forms of elephant/horse/bull)

• kare: in the hand
• kare: Adhikaraṇa
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण

• vāme: left
• vāme: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषण (of kare)

• mṛgī-dṛśām: of doe-eyed women
• mṛgī-dṛśām: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛgī (प्रातिपदिक) + dṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (मृगीव दृषः यस्याः सा) → ‘मृगीदृश्’ = doe-eyed woman; here genitive plural

Speaker

Skanda

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A palm bearing balance and measuring-rod-like line patterns; adjacent motifs of elephant, horse, and bull appear as faint auspicious silhouettes on the left hand; a bustling Kāśī bazaar near ghats subtly frames the symbolism.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Skanda
• Agastya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly roles and livelihoods are described as karmic outcomes, signified through bodily marks.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s setting is Kāśī, but the verse does not praise a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.