Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

आदौ पादतलं रेखास्ततोंगुष्ठांगुली नखाः । पृष्ठगुल्फद्वयं पार्ष्णी जंघे रोमाणि जानुनी

Transliteration

ādau pādatalaṃ rekhāstatoṃguṣṭhāṃgulī nakhāḥ | pṛṣṭhagulphadvayaṃ pārṣṇī jaṃghe romāṇi jānunī

Translation

سب سے پہلے پاؤں کا تلوہ اور اس کی لکیریں؛ پھر بڑا انگوٹھا، باقی انگلیاں اور ناخن؛ پھر پاؤں کی پشت، دونوں ٹخنے، ایڑی، پنڈلیاں، ان پر بال، اور گھٹنے۔

Word by Word

• ādau: first
• ādau: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभूत (locative adverb), ‘at first/in the beginning’

• pāda-talam: sole of the foot
• pāda-talam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• rekhāḥ: lines
• rekhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rekhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘then/thereafter’

• aṅguṣṭha-aṅgulī: thumb and fingers
• aṅguṣṭha-aṅgulī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅguṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅgulī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनार्थे समाहार/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (thumb and fingers)

• nakhāḥ: nails
• nakhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nakha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• pṛṣṭha-gulpha-dvayam: the pair of ankles (upper/back)
• pṛṣṭha-gulpha-dvayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + gulpha (प्रातिपदिक) + dvi (संख्या)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (two ankles) with qualifier pṛṣṭha- (back/upper)

• pārṣṇī: the two heels
• pārṣṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārṣṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन

• jaṅghe: the two shanks/legs
• jaṅghe: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaṅghā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन

• romāṇi: hairs
• romāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: roman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• jānunī: the two knees
• jānunī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jānu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni/ṛṣi

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic ‘lower-limb’ focus: soles with line patterns, toes and nails, ankles and heel, calves with hair, and knees—presented as a sequential anatomical scroll beside the teacher.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya
• Kāśī (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Attention to detail and orderly observation is presented as a traditional method for discerning qualities (lakṣaṇas) in Dharma-oriented literature.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the overarching sacred setting of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, but this verse is a procedural list rather than a tīrtha-praise passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it enumerates body parts to be examined in sequence.