Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

अनंगभू नियमतोऽदृश्ये मध्ये नतभ्रुवः । रोमालीलक्षिकामूर्ध्वामिव यष्टिं विधिर्व्यधात्

Transliteration

anaṃgabhū niyamato'dṛśye madhye natabhruvaḥ | romālīlakṣikāmūrdhvāmiva yaṣṭiṃ vidhirvyadhāt

Translation

造物主以克制之心塑成她的腰身，纤细得几乎不可见，宛如一根细杖；其上又以体毛之线作记号，仿佛刻下的标识。

Word by Word

• anaṃga-bhūḥ: Kāma (the bodiless one)
• anaṃga-bhūḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anaṃga (प्रातिपदिक) + bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); ‘अनङ्गभू’ = कामदेवः (Kāma)

• niyamataḥ: as a rule / regularly
• niyamataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: niyamataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb)

• adṛśye: in the unseen (space)
• adṛśye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adṛśya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• madhye: in the middle
• madhye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• nata-bhruvaḥ: of (her) with bent eyebrows
• nata-bhruvaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nata (कृदन्त, √nam) + bhru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषणम् (adjective) to yaṣṭim (implied: of her)

• romālī-lakṣikā-mūrdhvām: having the line of body-hair as its mark, raised upward
• romālī-lakṣikā-mūrdhvām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: romālī (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣikā (प्रातिपदिक) + mūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषणम् to yaṣṭim

• iva: as if / like
• iva: Upamana-marker (Simile particle/उपमानसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्ययम् (comparative particle)

• yaṣṭim: a staff / rod
• yaṣṭim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yaṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• vidhiḥ: the Creator (Brahmā)
• vidhiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• vyadhāt: fashioned / made
• vyadhāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√dhā (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The heroine’s waist is described as so subtle it is nearly invisible, like a slender staff; above it the romāvalī (line of body hair) appears like a mark/sign on that staff—an image of delicate proportion and crafted restraint.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Vidhi)
• Kāma (Ananga)
• Kāśī (implied context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse uses refined poetic imagery to show how extraordinary qualities are ‘crafted’ under divine order, within the sanctity of Kāśī’s dharmic landscape.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) broadly; the shloka supports the chapter’s Kāśī-māhātmya setting without naming a distinct tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive praise.