Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

अपत्यदाऽनपत्यानां परा तत्रपुरेऽवसत् । काचित्करांघ्रिरेखाणां लक्षणानि चिकेति च

Transliteration

apatyadā'napatyānāṃ parā tatrapure'vasat | kācitkarāṃghrirekhāṇāṃ lakṣaṇāni ciketi ca

Translation

ในนครนั้นมีสตรีอีกผู้หนึ่งพำนักอยู่ในฐานะผู้ประทานบุตรแก่ผู้ไร้บุตร และอีกผู้หนึ่งตรวจดูแล้วตีความลักษณะมงคลที่ปรากฏในเส้นลายมือและลายเท้า

Word by Word

• अपत्यदा: (a woman) who grants offspring
• अपत्यदा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपत्यदा (प्रातिपदिक; अपत्य + दा)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘अपत्यं ददाति’ इति (giver of offspring)

• अनपत्यानाम्: of the childless
• अनपत्यानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनपत्य (प्रातिपदिक; न + अपत्य)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘अनपत्यानाम्’ = of the childless

• परा: another (woman)
• परा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘अन्या/परा’ (another)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• पुरे: in the city
• पुरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘पुरे’ = in the city

• अवसत्: lived, dwelt
• अवसत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘अवसत्’ = dwelt/lived

• काचित्: some (woman)
• काचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काचित् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; किम्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अनिर्दिष्टा (some/one woman)

• कर-अङ्घ्रि-रेखाणाम्: of the lines (marks) of hands and feet
• कर-अङ्घ्रि-रेखाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्घ्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + रेखा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (रेखा), षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वसमास—‘करयोः अङ्घ्र्योः रेखाः’ = lines of hands and feet

• लक्षणानि: signs, characteristics
• लक्षणानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; कर्मपद

• चिकेति: recognized, discerned
• चिकेति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चिकेत् (धातु; √चित्/चेत् ‘to perceive/understand’)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘चिकेति’ = understood/recognized

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

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (frame; not explicit in the verse alone)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bustling Kāśī street near a ghat: a woman revered as a giver of progeny to the childless; another reads auspicious lines on palms and soles, surrounded by townsfolk and pilgrims.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kāśī, worldly hopes (like progeny) and traditional sign-reading are depicted within a sacred landscape, reminding that human aspirations unfold under divine order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī as the sanctified city; no particular tīrtha is named.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse describes roles rather than prescribing rites.