Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

वामावर्तं च निर्मांसं भुग्नवैधव्यसूचकम् । संकटस्थपुटं रूक्षं जघनं दुःखदं सदा

Transliteration

vāmāvartaṃ ca nirmāṃsaṃ bhugnavaidhavyasūcakam | saṃkaṭasthapuṭaṃ rūkṣaṃ jaghanaṃ duḥkhadaṃ sadā

Translation

वामावर्त, मांसहीन व विकृत अशी लक्षणे वैधव्यसूचक म्हणतात; तसेच संकुचित, रूक्ष व दाबलेला जघन-प्रदेश सदैव दुःखद मानला जातो.

Word by Word

• वामावर्तम्: left-turning (navel)
• वामावर्तम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वाम + आवर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter, nominative/accusative singular; adjective)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• निर्मांसम्: fleshless, without flesh
• निर्मांसम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + मांस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• भुग्नवैधव्यसूचकम्: indicating brokenness and widowhood
• भुग्नवैधव्यसूचकम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भुग्न + वैधव्य + सूचक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण; (भुग्नं वैधव्यं सूचयति इति) (neuter nom/acc sg; indicating broken-widowhood)

• संकटस्थपुटम्: having a depressed/contracted fold
• संकटस्थपुटम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संकट + स्थ + पुट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• रूक्षम्: rough, dry
• रूक्षम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रूक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• जघनम्: buttocks, hind part
• जघनम्: Ādhāra/Viṣaya (Topic/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जघन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter nom/acc sg)

• दुःखदम्: pain-giving
• दुःखदम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख + द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; pain-giving)

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic setting in Kāśī: a learned sage instructs listeners on auspicious and inauspicious bodily marks, with the ghāṭas of Gaṅgā and distant Viśvanātha spires as backdrop; the mood is cautionary and contemplative.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic dharma frames outer signs as reminders to cultivate inner steadiness and to seek auspiciousness through right conduct rather than anxiety over omens.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader discourse belongs to the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, centered on Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), even though this verse itself focuses on bodily marks.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific vrata, dāna, snāna, or japa is prescribed in this verse; it is descriptive (lakṣaṇa) rather than ritual.