Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

उत्कंटासनगुल्फास्फिग्नाभिरस्यापि वर्तुला । दक्षिणावर्तमरुणं महदैश्वर्यसूचिका

Transliteration

utkaṃṭāsanagulphāsphignābhirasyāpi vartulā | dakṣiṇāvartamaruṇaṃ mahadaiśvaryasūcikā

Translation

അവന്റെ നിതംബങ്ങളും തുടകളും കണങ്കാലുകളും നാഭിയും വൃത്താകാരമാണ്. വലത്തോട്ടു തിരിയുന്ന അരുണവർണ്ണ ശുഭചിഹ്നം മഹത്തായ ഐശ്വര്യസമൃദ്ധിയുടെ സൂചനയാണ്.

Word by Word

• utkaṃṭā: raised/arched (lit. elevated)
• utkaṃṭā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: utkaṃṭā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेष्य-सम्बन्धः (as qualifier in compound)

• āsana: seat/posture
• āsana: Viśeṣya (Qualified noun/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (member of compound)

• gulpha: ankle
• gulpha: Viśeṣya
• Type: Noun
• Root: gulpha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासाङ्ग

• āsphiknābhiḥ: with the buttocks and navel
• āsphiknābhiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āsphiknābhi (प्रातिपदिक; ā-sphik-nābhi)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वसमासः (āsphik + nābhi)

• asya: of him
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• vartulā: round/circular
• vartulā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vartula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण

• dakṣiṇāvarta: right-turning (clockwise)
• dakṣiṇāvarta: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa + āvarta (प्रातिपदिक-द्वय)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (dakṣiṇasya āvartaḥ)

• aruṇam: reddish
• aruṇam: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• mahat: great
• mahat: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासाङ्ग

• aiśvarya: sovereignty/prosperity
• aiśvarya: Viśeṣya
• Type: Noun
• Root: aiśvarya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासाङ्ग

• sūcikā: indicative of great prosperity
• sūcikā: Viśeṣaṇa/Predicate (विशेषण/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sūcikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (mahadaiśvaryasya sūcikā)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-kṣetra (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A learned sage in Kāśī describes auspicious bodily marks—rounded hips, thighs, ankles, and navel; a reddish right-turning sign indicating sovereignty—while disciples listen near a ghat or temple courtyard.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya
• Kāśī (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Traditional auspicious marks (like dakṣiṇāvarta) are celebrated as outward signs of inner merit culminating in great fortune.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s sacred narrative frame, without naming a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an interpretive description of auspicious physical characteristics.