Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 89

Devanagari script

शस्ता ग्रीवा त्रिरेखांका त्वव्यक्तास्थिः सुसंहता । निर्मांसा चिपिटा दीर्घास्थपुटा न शुभप्रदा

Transliteration

śastā grīvā trirekhāṃkā tvavyaktāsthiḥ susaṃhatā | nirmāṃsā cipiṭā dīrghāsthapuṭā na śubhapradā

Translation

ज्या ग्रीवेवर तीन रेषा असतात, ज्यात हाडे ठळक दिसत नाहीत आणि जी सुसंघटित असते ती शस्त मानली जाते. पण जी ग्रीवा मांसहीन, चपटी व लांब हाडांची असेल ती शुभफल देत नाही.

Word by Word

• śastā: praiseworthy; proper
• śastā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• grīvā: neck
• grīvā: Adhikaraṇa/Viṣaya (topic described)
• Type: Noun
• Root: grīvā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• trirekhāṃkā: having three line-marks
• trirekhāṃkā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + rekhā (प्रातिपदिक) + aṃka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (trīṇāṃ rekhāṇām aṃkā = ‘marked with three lines’)

• tu: but; however
• tu: Sambandha (discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थ (contrast/emphasis)

• avyaktāsthiḥ: with indistinct bones
• avyaktāsthiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-vyakta (प्रातिपदिक) + asthi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः बहुव्रीहि (avyaktāni asthīni yasyāḥ sā = ‘whose bones are not manifest’)

• susaṃhatā: well-knit; compact
• susaṃhatā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + saṃhata (प्रातिपदिक; √han धातु-निष्पन्न)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• nirmāṃsā: without flesh; fleshless
• nirmāṃsā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir (उपसर्ग) + māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• cipiṭā: flat; depressed
• cipiṭā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cipiṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dīrghāsthapuṭā: with long bony structure
• dīrghāsthapuṭā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dīrgha (प्रातिपदिक) + asthi (प्रातिपदिक) + puṭa (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (dīrgham asthi-puṭam = ‘having long bony protuberance/structure’)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• śubhapradā: auspicious-giving
• śubhapradā: Viśeṣaṇa (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक) + pradā (प्रातिपदिक; √dā धातु-निष्पन्न)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (śubhaṃ pradāti = ‘giving auspiciousness’)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close, symbolic depiction of the ‘three lines’ on the neck as a mark of auspiciousness, shown in a respectful, non-sensational didactic illustration with the teacher pointing to a diagram on a palm-leaf.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Auspicious marks are linked with wholeness and steadiness, echoing the purāṇic preference for harmony and health.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs within Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s sacred narrative frame; no specific tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.