Agnipurana 242
English (machine translation) 242
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Contents
242.1
Agni said: / The statecraft spoken by Rāma has been told by me. O king, I shall speak of the characteristics / of women and men, as was formerly told by Samudra to Garga.
242.2
Samudra said: / I shall describe the auspicious and inauspicious characteristics of men and women: / one having one predominant [quality], two whites, and likewise three deep [parts],
242.3
having three triads, three hanging down, and he who pervades by three; / possessing three folds, bent in three, and knowing the three times, O you of noble vows;
242.4
a man having auspicious characteristics is broad in three [places], / one who has four lines, and likewise one who is even in four [parts],
242.5
measuring four cubits, having four canine teeth, white and dark, / possessing four fragrances, short in four, and subtle and long in five [places],
242.6
elevated in six, possessing eight lineages, seven glosses, nine purities, / ten lotuses, ten arrays, circular like a banyan tree,
242.7
having fourteen equal pairs, and sixteen imperishables is praised. / Endowed with virtue, wealth, and pleasure, virtue is considered the one predominant [quality].
242.8
He who has eyes, apart from the pupils, and teeth white, is 'two-white'. / Three are deep: the voice, the navel, and sattva—this is considered one triad.
242.9
Absence of malice, compassion, forbearance, devotion to auspicious conduct, / ritual purity, zeal, lack of miserliness, lack of fatigue, and valor—
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242.10
this is the triad. A man having three hanging down would be [so] in the testicles and the two arms. / And one who pervades directions, countries, and groups of men by his splendor, fame, and fortune,
242.11
pervading through three, is 'three-pervading'. That man who has three folds / has three folds on his belly. Hear of the man bent in three:
242.12
he who bows to deities, twice-born men, and gurus; / one who knows the proper times for virtue, wealth, and pleasure is called 'knower of the three times'.
242.13
The chest, forehead, and face [make him] 'broad in three'. Marked with lines: / the two hands and likewise the two feet endowed with [marks of] a banner, parasol, and the like.
242.14
The fingers, chest, back, and waist are praised as 'even in four'. / The height of ninety-six finger-breadths is by measure 'four cubits'.
242.15
The four canine teeth resemble the moon. I shall tell you the 'four-dark': / the pupils of the eyes, the eyebrows, the beard, and likewise the hair are black.
242.16
Fragrant like bdellium in the nose, mouth, sweat, and armpits. / The penis, neck, and two shanks are short—that would be 'four-short'.
242.17
Slender are the joints of the fingers, the nails, hair, teeth, and skin. / The jaws, eyes, forehead, nose, and the space between the breasts are long.
242.18
The chest, armpits, nails, nose, face, and nape of the neck are elevated. / Glossy are the skin, hair, teeth, body hair, gaze, nails, and speech.
242.19
The two knee-joints and thighs, the two lineages on the back, and those of the hands and nose. / The eyes, nostrils, ears, penis, anus, and mouth are pure.
242.20
The tongue, lips, palate, eyes, hands, feet, nails, / tip of the penis, and mouth: these ten resembling a lotus are praised in embodied beings.
242.21
The hands, feet, mouth, neck, ears, heart, head,
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242.21_2
forehead, belly, and back: these ten, being large, are honored.
242.22
He whose distance between the tips of the middle fingers when his arms are outstretched / is equal to his height is 'circular like a banyan tree' (nyagrodhaparimaṇḍala).
242.23
The feet, ankles, buttocks, flanks, groins, testicles, breasts, / ears, lips, thighs, shanks, hands, arms, and eyes:
242.24
a man generally has these fourteen equal pairs. / He who sees the fourteen branches of learning with both eyes is 'sixteen-eyed'.
242.25
A rough body, covered with veins, devoid of flesh, is inauspicious. / That which is foul-smelling is the opposite [of auspicious]; what is praised is [accompanied] by a clear gaze.
242.26
A fortunate man's voice is sweet, and his gait resembles an intoxicated elephant. / Hair growing singly from a follicle brings protection in times of danger again and again.
242.26.p1
Thus ends the two hundred and forty-second chapter, entitled 'Characteristics of Men', in the great Agni Purāṇa.
242.26.p3
Now begins the two hundred and forty-third chapter.
242.26.p4
Characteristics of Women
Other recensions (1)
- Agnipurāṇa (Nag Publishers edition, Delhi) — Sanskrit
Linked texts (1)
- Agnipurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit