Shloka 4

Lakṣaṇas of Men: Feet, Shanks, Hair, Genitals, Abdomen, and Lines of Longevity

Forehead & Palm

Devanagari script

दुः खदारिद्यदौ स्याता नात्र कार्यां विचारणा / अल्परोमयुता श्रेष्ठा जङ्घा हस्तिकरोपमा

Transliteration

duḥ khadāridyadau syātā nātra kāryāṃ vicāraṇā / alparomayutā śreṣṭhā jaṅghā hastikaropamā

Translation

ຖ້າຂາທ່ອນ (ຫຼື ນ່ອງ) ມີເຄົາະຮ້າຍແຫ່ງຄວາມໂສກແລະຄວາມທຸກຍາກ ກໍບໍ່ຈຳເປັນຕ້ອງພິຈາລະນາອື່ນອີກ. ນ່ອງທີ່ດີທີ່ສຸດມີຂົນນ້ອຍ ເໝືອນຂາໜ້າຂອງຊ້າງ.

Word by Word

• दुःखदारिद्यदौ: sorrow and poverty
• दुःखदारिद्यदौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख + दारिद्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (copulative: ‘sorrow and poverty’)

• स्याताम्: would be, may occur
• स्याताम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन; Optative 3rd dual

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place: here)

• कार्यā: (any) need
• कार्यā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘to be done/necessary (thing)’ used predicatively

• विचारणा: consideration, deliberation
• विचारणा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विचारणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• अल्परोमयुता: having little hair
• अल्परोमयुता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अल्प + रोम + युत (युज्/युता-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (‘endowed with little hair’), विशेषण (qualifying जङ्घा)

• श्रेष्ठा: excellent
• श्रेष्ठा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying जङ्घा)

• जङ्घा: the shank/leg (calf)
• जङ्घा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जङ्घा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• हस्तिकरोपमा: like an elephant’s trunk
• हस्तिकरोपमा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हस्ति + कर + उपमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (‘comparable to an elephant’s trunk/hand’), विशेषण (qualifying जङ्घा)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in dialogue to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Certain bodily indicators are taken as reliable signs of duḥkha and dāridrya; conversely, scant hair and elephant-foreleg-like shanks signify strength and good fortune.

Vedantic Theme: Karma’s fruits appear as सुख/दुःख conditions in embodied life; yet the teaching remains within empirical prognostication.

Application: Use the ‘no need for deliberation’ as rhetorical emphasis: be attentive to persistent hardship signals and address root causes (skills, support, health) rather than fatalism.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.63 (continued limb-sign catalog)

FAQs

What is the importance of bodily signs (lakshana) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse treats physical features as indicators of a person’s lived fortune—linking certain marks with suffering or prosperity and highlighting “auspicious” traits as preferable.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul after death?

It does not describe the after-death journey here; instead, it appears in a lakshana (physiognomy) context, focusing on worldly indicators of hardship or well-being.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Use it as a traditional cultural lens rather than deterministic fate: prioritize ethical conduct and steady livelihood practices over judging destiny solely by appearance.