Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 95

Devanagari script

पाटलो वर्तुलः स्निग्धो लेखाभूषितमध्यभूः । सीमंतिनी नामधरो धराजानि प्रियो भवेत्

Transliteration

pāṭalo vartulaḥ snigdho lekhābhūṣitamadhyabhūḥ | sīmaṃtinī nāmadharo dharājāni priyo bhavet

Translation

Ai mang dấu hiệu màu hồng như sen, tròn đầy và bóng mượt, với phần giữa được điểm trang bởi những đường nét, thì được nữ nhân mến chuộng; người ấy được gọi là ‘sīmaṃtinī-nāma-dhara’, kẻ mang dấu hiệu tên sīmaṃtinī.

Word by Word

• pāṭalaḥ: pinkish / reddish
• pāṭalaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāṭala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• vartulaḥ: round
• vartulaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vartula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• snigdhaḥ: smooth / glossy
• snigdhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: snigdha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• lekhā: line / mark
• lekhā: Samāsa-aṅga
• Type: Noun
• Root: lekhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (समासाङ्ग)

• bhūṣita: adorned
• bhūṣita: Samāsa-aṅga
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √bhūṣ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/ta), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (समासाङ्ग-रूप)

• madhya: middle
• madhya: Samāsa-aṅga
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (समासाङ्ग)

• bhūḥ: ground/area; (here) middle-part
• bhūḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘भूमि/भूः’

• lekhābhūṣitamadhyabhūḥ: one whose middle part is adorned with lines
• lekhābhūṣitamadhyabhūḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: lekhā + bhūṣita + madhya + bhū (प्रातिपदिकसमूह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः ‘यस्य मध्यभागः लेखाभिः भूषितः सः’

• sīmaṃtinī: a married woman / woman with hair-parting
• sīmaṃtinī: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sīmaṃtinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• nāmadharaḥ: bearing the name
• nāmadharaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nāma + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘नाम धारयति’

• dharājāni: O daughter of Earth
• dharājāni: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā + jāni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन/द्वितीया? (Vocative/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः dharā ‘earth’ + jāni ‘daughter/wife’; here used as संबोधन (O daughter of earth)

• priyaḥ: dear
• priyaḥ: Predicative complement
• Type: Adjective
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bhavet: would be / should become
• bhavet: Kriyā
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda instructing Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic depiction of a lotus-pink, rounded, glossy ‘mark’ with fine lines at the center; courtly admiration motif—being ‘dear to women’—kept tasteful and classical.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (context)
• Skanda (context)
• Agastya (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Traditional lakṣaṇa teachings link pleasant form and orderly markings with social harmony and affection, treating them as signs of auspicious karma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it appears within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s broader Kāśī glorification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it classifies auspicious signs and their results.