Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

शुभावयवसंस्थाना शुभलक्षणलक्षिता । परं गृध्रमुखी जाता निर्माल्याक्षतभक्षणात्

Transliteration

śubhāvayavasaṃsthānā śubhalakṣaṇalakṣitā | paraṃ gṛdhramukhī jātā nirmālyākṣatabhakṣaṇāt

Translation

اس کے اعضا خوش تراش تھے اور وہ مبارک نشانوں سے مزین تھی؛ مگر نِرمالیہ اور اَکشَت کھانے کے سبب وہ گِدھ کے چہرے والی پیدا ہوئی۔

Word by Word

• शुभावयवसंस्थाना: with auspicious bodily form
• शुभावयवसंस्थाना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक) + अवयव (प्रातिपदिक) + संस्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण: ‘having well-formed limbs/structure’

• शुभलक्षणलक्षिता: marked by auspicious characteristics
• शुभलक्षणलक्षिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्षण (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्षित (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण: ‘marked by auspicious signs’

• परम्: afterwards
• परम्: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग (adverbial accusative): ‘afterwards/then’

• गृध्रमुखी: vulture-faced
• गृध्रमुखी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गृध्र (प्रातिपदिक) + मुखी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण: ‘vulture-faced’

• जाता: became
• जाता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP) ‘became’, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• निर्माल्याक्षतभक्षणात्: from eating remnants and rice-offerings
• निर्माल्याक्षतभक्षणात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्माल्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षत (प्रातिपदिक) + भक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेतुवाचक: ‘from eating the offered remnants and (unbroken) rice’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Śiva shrine offering-space)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A girl of auspicious form and signs, yet with a vulture-like face—symbolizing karmic residue. Visual contrast between graceful posture and unsettling visage; background hints of temple offerings (flowers, rice grains) and discarded garlands (nirmālya).

Characters & Entities

• nirmālya
• akṣata
• Śiva (implied by prior context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit and fault can coexist: devotional proximity yields auspiciousness, while disrespect toward offerings yields deformity-like karmic markers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching remains within the Kāśī-kṣetra māhātmya setting, where worship practices are especially emphasized.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Avoid consuming nirmālya/akṣata improperly; treat worship materials with reverence and according to dharma.