Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

शुभावयवसंस्थाना शुभलक्षणलक्षिता । परं गृध्रमुखी जाता निर्माल्याक्षतभक्षणात्

Transliteration

śubhāvayavasaṃsthānā śubhalakṣaṇalakṣitā | paraṃ gṛdhramukhī jātā nirmālyākṣatabhakṣaṇāt

Translation

Son corps était bien proportionné et marqué de signes de bon augure; pourtant elle naquit avec un visage de vautour, pour avoir mangé le nirmālya et l’akṣata.

Word by Word

• शुभावयवसंस्थाना: with auspicious bodily form
• शुभावयवसंस्थाना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक) + अवयव (प्रातिपदिक) + संस्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण: ‘having well-formed limbs/structure’

• शुभलक्षणलक्षिता: marked by auspicious characteristics
• शुभलक्षणलक्षिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्षण (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्षित (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण: ‘marked by auspicious signs’

• परम्: afterwards
• परम्: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग (adverbial accusative): ‘afterwards/then’

• गृध्रमुखी: vulture-faced
• गृध्रमुखी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गृध्र (प्रातिपदिक) + मुखी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण: ‘vulture-faced’

• जाता: became
• जाता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP) ‘became’, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• निर्माल्याक्षतभक्षणात्: from eating remnants and rice-offerings
• निर्माल्याक्षतभक्षणात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्माल्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षत (प्रातिपदिक) + भक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेतुवाचक: ‘from eating the offered remnants and (unbroken) rice’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Śiva shrine offering-space)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A girl of auspicious form and signs, yet with a vulture-like face—symbolizing karmic residue. Visual contrast between graceful posture and unsettling visage; background hints of temple offerings (flowers, rice grains) and discarded garlands (nirmālya).

Characters & Entities

• nirmālya
• akṣata
• Śiva (implied by prior context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit and fault can coexist: devotional proximity yields auspiciousness, while disrespect toward offerings yields deformity-like karmic markers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching remains within the Kāśī-kṣetra māhātmya setting, where worship practices are especially emphasized.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Avoid consuming nirmālya/akṣata improperly; treat worship materials with reverence and according to dharma.