Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

अतिह्रस्वाः कृशा वक्रा विरला रोगहेतुकाः । दुःखायांगुलयः स्त्रीणां बहुपर्वसमन्विताः

Transliteration

atihrasvāḥ kṛśā vakrā viralā rogahetukāḥ | duḥkhāyāṃgulayaḥ strīṇāṃ bahuparvasamanvitāḥ

Translation

女性において、きわめて短く、細く、曲がり、まばらで、節の多い指は、病の因となり、憂いを招くと説かれる。

Word by Word

• अति: very, excessively
• अति: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्ग/अतिशयार्थक (indeclinable; intensifier/prefix)

• ह्रस्वाः: short
• ह्रस्वाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ह्रस्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (Plural)

• कृशाः: thin, emaciated
• कृशाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन

• वक्राः: curved, crooked
• वक्राः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन

• विरलाः: sparse, few
• विरलाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विरल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन

• रोग-हेतुकाः: causing disease
• रोग-हेतुकाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रोग (प्रातिपदिक) + हेतु (प्रातिपदिक) + क (प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative): ‘रोगस्य हेतुः’

• दुःखाय: for suffering, for pain
• दुःखाय: Sampradāna (Recipient/Purpose)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative); एकवचन (Singular)

• अङ्गुलयः: fingers
• अङ्गुलयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्गुलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन

• स्त्रीणाम्: of women
• स्त्रीणाम्: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन

• बहु-पर्व-समन्विताः: having many joints
• बहु-पर्व-समन्विताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + समन्वित (कृदन्त; सम्+अन्वि/इ √इ ‘to go/attend’ → समन्वित ‘endowed’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st); बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘बहूनि पर्वाणि येषां ते/तैः समन्विताः’ (endowed with many joints)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśīkṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic setting in Kāśī: a learned narrator describing hand-finger omens to attentive listeners, with the ghāṭas and temples faintly in the background; focus on hands with varied finger forms as illustrative motifs.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames bodily signs as karmic indicators, urging discernment and mindful living aligned with dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader discourse belongs to the Kāśī Khaṇḍa (Vārāṇasī’s sacred sphere), though this verse itself focuses on omens rather than a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is descriptive (lakṣaṇa/omen) rather than prescriptive (vrata/dāna/snānā).