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

先观足底及其纹理；继观大趾、诸趾与趾甲；再观足背、双踝、足跟、小腿、其上毛发，以及双膝。

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.