Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

आखुरोमा गूढमणिः सुश्लिष्टः संहतः पृथुः । तुंगः कमलपर्णाभः शुभोश्वत्थदलाकृतिः

Transliteration

ākhuromā gūḍhamaṇiḥ suśliṣṭaḥ saṃhataḥ pṛthuḥ | tuṃgaḥ kamalaparṇābhaḥ śubhośvatthadalākṛtiḥ

Translation

എലിയെപ്പോലുള്ള രോമാവലി ഉള്ളതും, മണി (ക്ലിറ്റോറിസ്) നന്നായി മറഞ്ഞതും; ചേർന്നു കെട്ടിപ്പിണഞ്ഞ, ഘനവും വിശാലവും; ഉയർന്ന, താമരപ്പത്രസദൃശ—ശുഭം, അശ്വത്ഥഇലയുടെ ആകൃതിയുള്ളത്—ഇത്തരം ലക്ഷണം പ്രശംസിതം.

Word by Word

• आखुरोमा: having hair like a rat (rat-haired)
• आखुरोमा: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आखु-रोमन् (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (आखोः रोम इव/आखुसदृशरोमा)

• गूढमणिः: with a hidden gem
• गूढमणिः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गूढ (कृदन्त; √गुह्/गूह्) + मणि (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (गूढः मणिः यस्य/गूढमणिः)

• सुश्लिष्टः: well-joined, closely fitted
• सुश्लिष्टः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-श्लिष्ट (कृदन्त; √श्लिष्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृदन्त (क्त)

• संहतः: compact, consolidated
• संहतः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सं-हत (कृदन्त; √हन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त)

• पृथुः: broad, large
• पृथुः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पृथु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तुंगः: high, lofty
• तुंगः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुंग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कमलपर्णाभः: having the appearance of a lotus-leaf
• कमलपर्णाभः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कमल-पर्ण-आभ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कमलस्य पर्णस्य आभा/आभः)

• शुभः: auspicious, fair
• शुभः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अश्वत्थदलाकृतिः: having the shape of an aśvattha leaf
• अश्वत्थदलाकृतिः: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अश्वत्थ-दल-आकृति (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (अश्वत्थस्य दलस्य आकृतिः यस्य)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic courtly/household setting in Kāśī: a learned narrator enumerates auspicious feminine marks using lotus-leaf and aśvattha-leaf metaphors; the visual emphasis is symbolic (lotus, aśvattha) rather than explicit anatomy.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It is a catalog of auspicious/inauspicious physical ‘signs’ (lakṣaṇa) within the narrative tradition, not a direct teaching on pilgrimage merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is specified in this verse; it occurs within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī-centered framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.