Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

त्वक्केशांगुलिदशनाः पर्वाण्यंगुलिजान्यपि । तथास्य पंचसूक्ष्माणि दिक्पालपदभाग्यथा

Transliteration

tvakkeśāṃgulidaśanāḥ parvāṇyaṃgulijānyapi | tathāsya paṃcasūkṣmāṇi dikpālapadabhāgyathā

Translation

ಚರ್ಮ, ಕೇಶ, ಬೆರಳುಗಳು, ದಂತಗಳು ಹಾಗೂ ಬೆರಳಿನ ಸಂಧಿಗಳೂ ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮ-ಸೂಕುಮಾರ; ಹೀಗಾಗಿ ಅವನಿಗೆ ಐದು ‘ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮ’ ಲಕ್ಷಣಗಳು ದಿಕ್ಪಾಲಪದಭಾಗ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಯೋಗ್ಯ.

Word by Word

• त्वक्: skin
• त्वक्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वच्/त्वक् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (feminine nominative singular)

• केश: hair
• केश: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (masc nominative plural; collective sense)

• अङ्गुलि: fingers
• अङ्गुलि: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्गुलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (feminine nominative plural)

• दशनाः: teeth
• दशनाः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (masc nominative plural)

• पर्वाणि: joints, knuckles
• पर्वाणि: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनम् (neuter nom/acc plural)

• अङ्गुलिजानि: born from/pertaining to fingers (i.e., finger-joints)
• अङ्गुलिजानि: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अङ्गुलि + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः पञ्चमी/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अङ्गुलिभ्यः/अङ्गुलीनां जातानि); नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनम् (neuter nom/acc plural)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Samuccaya (Addition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक-अव्ययम् (particle: also/even)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb: likewise/so)

• अस्य: of this (child)
• अस्य: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी एकवचनम् (pronoun; masc genitive singular)

• पञ्च: five
• पञ्च: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-विशेषणम्; नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनम् (numeral; neuter nom/acc plural)

• सूक्ष्माणि: subtle, minute
• सूक्ष्माणि: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूक्ष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया बहुवचनम् (neuter nom/acc plural)

• दिक्पालपदभाग्यथा: as (in the case of) the directional guardians’ allotted posts/portions
• दिक्पालपदभाग्यथा: Sambandha (Comparison)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिक् + पाल + पद + भाग + यथा (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; यथा-प्रत्ययार्थे अव्ययम् (indeclinable compound: “as (in) the share/portion of the posts of the guardians of directions”)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context) narrating to Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close, delicate depiction of the child’s fine skin, hair, fingers, teeth, and finger-joints; the sage compares these ‘subtle’ marks to the fortune of attaining a guardian’s station; faint symbolic presence of the eight dikpālas around the scene.

Characters & Entities

• dikpāla (guardians of directions)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Auspicious refinement is associated with elevated duty; subtlety and discipline are signs of fitness for protecting order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s sacred geography is Kāśī, but this verse does not name a particular tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it continues the descriptive assessment of auspicious characteristics.