Shloka 43
Kāraṇānvēṣaṇam: The 32 Marks of Hari, Defects (Doṣas), Death-Omens, and Hari’s Omnipresence in Social & Household Life
हस्ते तु बहुरेखाः स्युर्लोम नासापुटे स्मृतम् / अतिदीर्घं तु चाङ्गुष्ठं कनिष्ठं चातिदीर्घकम्
haste tu bahurekhāḥ syurloma nāsāpuṭe smṛtam / atidīrghaṃ tu cāṅguṣṭhaṃ kaniṣṭhaṃ cātidīrghakam
കൈയിൽ അനവധി രേഖകൾ ഉണ്ടാകുകയും, നാസാപുടങ്ങളിൽ രോമം കാണപ്പെടുകയും, അങ്കുഷ്ഠം അതിദീർഘവും കനിഷ്ഠവും അതിദീർഘവുമാകുകയുമെങ്കിൽ—ഇവ ദേഹലക്ഷണങ്ങളെന്ന് പറഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നു.
Lord Vishnu (in discourse to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Concept: Physical traits (many palm lines, nasal hair, overly long thumb/little finger) are treated as markers correlated with nature and outcomes.
Vedantic Theme: Karma operates in the empirical domain (vyavahara); discernment should not confuse bodily indicators with the Self.
Application: Use as cultural anthropology or traditional lore; in personal life, focus on cultivating virtues rather than reading bodies as fate.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 3.22 (continuation of bodily mark catalog; likely contrasts of su-lakshana/du-lakshana nearby)
FAQs
This verse treats physical features—like palm lines, nostril hair, and finger proportions—as traditional indicators used to infer temperament and likely life outcomes, linking outer signs to inner karma-based tendencies.
By listing specific bodily characteristics as “smṛta” (recorded in tradition), the text frames them as observable signs through which one interprets karmic dispositions and probable trajectories in life.
Use it as a reflective prompt rather than fatalism: focus on ethical conduct (dharma) and corrective effort, since the Purana repeatedly emphasizes that actions and devotion can refine one’s future outcomes.