Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

शुष्का शिराला रोमाढ्या विशाला कुटिलाशुभा । मांसलो वर्तुलः कंठः प्रशस्तश्चतुरंगुलः

Transliteration

śuṣkā śirālā romāḍhyā viśālā kuṭilāśubhā | māṃsalo vartulaḥ kaṃṭhaḥ praśastaścaturaṃgulaḥ

Translation

വറ്റിയതും ശിരകൾ തെളിഞ്ഞതും രോമസമൃദ്ധവും അതിവിശാലമോ വക്രമോ ആയ കണ്ഠം അശുഭം. മാംസളവും വൃത്താകാരവും ഏകദേശം നാലംഗുലപ്രമാണമുള്ള കണ്ഠം ശുഭമെന്നു പ്രശംസിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.

Word by Word

• śuṣkā: dry
• śuṣkā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuṣka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• śirālā: vein-marked; with prominent veins
• śirālā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śirāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• romāḍhyā: hairy; rich in hair
• romāḍhyā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: roma (प्रातिपदिक) + āḍhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (roma-āḍhya = ‘rich in hair’)

• viśālā: broad; wide
• viśālā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viśāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kuṭilāśubhā: crooked and inauspicious
• kuṭilāśubhā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kuṭila (प्रातिपदिक) + aśubhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (kuṭilā ca aśubhā ca)

• māṃsalaḥ: fleshy
• māṃsalaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: māṃsala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन

• vartulaḥ: round
• vartulaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vartula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kaṃṭhaḥ: neck
• kaṃṭhaḥ: Adhikaraṇa/Viṣaya (Topic/that being described)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṃṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• praśastaḥ: commendable; well-formed
• praśastaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: praśasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• caturaṃgulaḥ: four-finger(-breadths) long
• caturaṃgulaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + aṃgula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः द्विगु (catur-aṃgula = ‘four-finger(-breadths)’)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic setting in Kāśī: a learned teacher enumerates auspicious and inauspicious throat features using hand-gestures (aṅguli-pramāṇa), with palm-leaf manuscript and attentive listeners; subtle emphasis on proportion and symmetry.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Traditional auspiciousness is associated with moderation and symmetry, reflecting the purāṇic ideal of balance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the textual setting; this verse is not a direct tīrtha-māhātmya statement.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.