65 - Physiognomy

Hari said: 

1. I shall now describe the auspicious characteristics of men and women as narrated by Samudra1 (the sage who originally propounded this) by knowing which one can understand the past and future without difficulty.

1. A legendary personality said to be the originator of samudrika shastra (palmistry).

2. If the feet rarely perspire, have the soles as soft as the inner surface of a lotus, the toes adjoin one another, nails are copper-coloured, have sufficient warmth, are free from protruding nerves, 

3. The instep is arched like the back of a tortoise, the ankles are concealed, and the heels are fine, the man is destined to be a king. If the feet are flat and spreading like a winnowing fan, harsh of surface, uneven, have many protruding nerves.

4. Dry, the nails are greyish and the toes are detached too much, the man is destined to be poor. If the feet have the ridges lifted up, the man is destined to be a wanderer; if the feet are reddish brown.

5. The man brings about split in the family; if they are dart-like the man may slay even a brahmin. If both the calves are of equal length and have soft sparsely grown hair.

6. The thighs are like the trunk of an elephant and the knees are fleshy and even, the man is destined to be a king.

7. If the calves are like those of a fox and there is only a single hair growing from cach pore the man is destined to be poor. If there are two hairs growing from each pore the man is destined to be a king or a great scholar and very prosperous.

8. If there are three or more hairs growing from each pore the man is destined to be poor, miserable and despised. Persons with curly hair are likely to die in exile.

9. If the knee has no flesh at all he will be lucky; if there is a little of flesh and that is depressed he is loved by women; if the knee is deformed, the man becomes poor and if it is plump and fleshy he will win a kingdom.

10. Great men say that a man with a short penis lives long and becomes rich; the man with a stout penis has no son and will be devoid of wealth.

11. If the penis is slanting to the left the man shall be devoid of sons and wealthy; if it is a bit curved he shall have sons; if it is depressed below, he will be poor.

12. If the penis is small, the man will not beget sons; if it has protruding nerves he shall be happy; if the bulb of the penis is stout, he will be blessed with sons, etc.

13. If the scrotum is well-hidden he becomes a king; if it is long and curved he is devoid of wealth; a man with a short penis will be strong and spirited in fight.

14. A man with a single scrotum is weak; if the two scrotums are unequal in size, he will be running after girls; if the scrotums are of equal size, he shall be a king; if the scrotums hang loose, he will live hundred years.

15. If the scrotums are lifted up the man shall be long lived; if they are rough the man becomes a lord; if they are grey the man is poor; if they are dirty in appearance, the man enjoys happiness.

16. If the urine comes out noisily and silently by turns, the man becomes poor; if the urine comes out evenly, or in two, three, four, five or six spurts.

17. Or if the urine comes out curling to the right, the man becomes a king; If the urine comes out in scattered drops, he is poor; if it comes out in a single continous flow, it indicates happiness.

18. Persons passing urine in a single flow will enjoy women, persons having high, equal and oily scrotum will possess good women and riches; persons with scrotum depressed in the middle will beget daughters.

19. If the semen is very dry the man is destined to be poor and miserable; if the semen is fragrant like flowers, the man becomes a king; if the semen has the smell of honey the man will have plenty of wealth.

20. If the semen has the smell of fish the man begets sons; if the semen has no smell the man begets daughters; if the semen has the smell of meat the man will enjoy sexual pleasure: if the semen smells of ichor the man becomes a performer of sacrifices.

21. If the semen emits a salty smell the man is destined to be poor. A man who finishes coitus quickly, enjoys longevity; a man of prolonged coitus is short-lived; a man with stout buttocks is destined to be poor.

22. A man with fleshy buttocks is ever happy; a person with a lion's buttocks is destined to be a king. Similarly, if the hips are leonine the man becomes a king; a man with monkey like hips is destined to be poor.

23. Persons with serpentine, pan-like or pot-like bellies are destined to be poor. Persons with broad sides are rich and those with depressed sides reddish in hue are poor.

24. Persons having arm-pits of cqual size enjoy various objects of life; those with too depressed armpits are destined to be poor; those of elevated armpits become kings and those of unequal armpits are crooked in character.

25. Persons having fishlike bellies are destined to be wealthy; those with large and capacious navel are destined to be happy; if the navel is depressed the man will lead a miserable life.

26. If the navel is within a curly wrinkle, the man will suffer much; if the wrinkle is curling to the left, the man will achieve something; is to the right he will be intelligent.

27. If the wrinkle is long and spreads on either side, the man shall be longlived; if it is above the ground, the man is destined to be wealthy; if it goes downwards, the man will possess cows; if it has the shape of the pericarp of a lotus he shall become a king.

28. A man with a single wrinkle lives for hundred years; with two wrinkles enjoys prosperity; with three wrinkles he becomes a king or a preceptor; if the wrinkles are straight he enjoys happiness.

29. If the wrinkles are awry he will have illicit union with women of base character. If the sides are fleshy, soft and of equal size with curly locks of hair turning right, the man is destined to be a king.

30. If otherwise, he will be a slave to others, devoid of wealth and happiness. If the nipples are not protruding up, men become lucky.

31. If they are uneven or long or yellow in hue, they are destined to be poor. If the chest is stout and fleshy, of even height and unmoving.

32. He is destined to be a king; if full of hard hair and protruding nerves, the man is destined to be base. If both the sides of the chest are equal, stout and firm, the man becomes rich.

33. If of unequal size, he becomes poor and is doomed to die by means of a weapon. If the clavicle is rugged or inter-woven by bones, the man is destined to be poor. 

34. If it is raised up, the man will enjoy life; if it is depressed the man becomes poor; if it is thick he becomes rich. If the neck is thin and flat the man is poor; if the throat is dry and nerves protrude, the man becomes happy.

35. If a man is buffalo-necked, he is destined to be a warrior; if he has the neck of a deer, he masters sacred literature. A man with a conch-like neck becomes a king and he with a long neck becomes a glutton. 

36. A back devoid of hair and not stooping indicates auspiciousness; otherwise it is inauspicious. The armpit shaped like the leaf of the Ashvattha (Holy fig) tree emitting sweet smell and having hair like those of a deer is an excellent sign.

37-38. Otherwise it indicates poverty. Plump, curling a little, and well joined hands are good. Well-rounded thick and long coming upto the knees indicate royalty. In poor people the hands are short and covered with hair. Good hands resemble the trunk of an elephant.

39. Fingers having ventilators are auspicious. Those of an intelligent person are short; those of servants are flat.

40. If the fingers are stout, the man is bound to be poor; if the fingers are very lean the man is sure to be humble. Persons with hands resembling those of a monkey are poor; with hands like those of a tiger are strong.

41. If the palm is depressed the ancestral property is doomed to be destroyed. If the wrists are well hidden and well knit, emitting sweet smell, the man is destined to be, 

42. A king; persons destined to be poor have wrists that are noisy on being twisted. Persons destined to be rich have wrists depressed and well covered with flesh).

43. If they are streched the man pays taxes always; if the wrists are unequal they are not good indications. If the palms and hands have the colour of the lac (red), the man iş bound to be a lord.

44. If they are yellow, he is sure to be an adulterer; if they are rough he will be poor. If the nails resemble husks, the man is sure to be impotent, if the nails are split, he is bound to be crooked. 

45. With nails of stunted growth, he is sure to be indigent; if the nails are pale the man is bound to be fond of verbal disputes. If the thumb has lines in the form of a barley grain and is copper-coloured he is destined to be a king. 

46. If the marks of barley grain are at the root of the thumb, be will beget sons; if the joints of the fingers are well apart he will enjoy longevity and will be fortunate; if the fingers stand apart he will be indigent. 

47. If they are close together he will be rich. If three lines start from the wrist and go up to the palm he will become a king. 

48. If pictures of a yoke or a fish are formed by the lines in the palm, the man will perform sacrifices; lines resembling thunderbolt indicate wealth; those like the tail of a fish indicate scholarship. 

49. Lines resembling Shankha, umbrella, tent, elephant or lotus indicate royal glory; those resembling pot, goad, banner or lotus stalk indicate affluence. 

50. Lines resembling rope indicate possession of cows and cattle; those like the Svastika indicate royalty and lordship and lines in the shape of a wheel, sword iron club, bow or lance indicate royalty. 

51. Lines in the shape of a mortar indicate performance of sacrifices; those resembling altar indicate the performance of Agnihotra;1 lines in the form of tank, temple or a triangle indicate virtuousness.

1. Maintenance of the sacred fire and offaring oblations to it. SSED p. 4.

52. Lines at the foot of the thumb foretell happiness and birth of sons, small ones indicate wives. One starting from the foot of the little finger and going upto the index finger,

53. Indicates longevity for a hundred years; if it is broken in the middle the man over-comes danger.2 Having many lines indicates poverty. If the chin is thin the man becomes devoid of possessions.

2. Variant: chinayd taruto bhayam.

54. If the chin is fleshy and plump the man becomes wealthy. If the lips are red the man becomes a king. The lips of a king resemble the Bimba3 fruit. If the lips are split, rough, 

3. The same a Coccinia indica, (GVDB p. 274)

55. And uneven, the man becomes poor. Oily (smooth and shining) adjoining teeth are auspicious. Sharp teeth of equal size are good; tonguc reddish in colour is auspicious,

56. A long and fine tongue is also auspicious. A white palate indicates destruction of riches. If the palate is rough and dark in colour and if the mouth is finely shaped, 

57-58. It indicates royalty; the opposite indicates misery. A round face indicates prosperity; if it is of a lady she will beget a son; a long face indicates poverty, misfortune and great sorrow. A square face indicates that he is a coward, sinner and a rogue. 

59-60. A depressed face indicates issuelessness; a short face indicates miserliness. Persons with shining moustache enjoy all luxuries; smooth soft thickly grown moustache is auspicious, if its tip is not broken. A man with a reddish moustache is a thief, Persons with slightly red rough moustache may be like Karna1 (very liberal) but may have tragic sinful death.

1. The well known character of the Mahabhårata. He was born to Kunti before she was married to Pandu: Indra, disguised as a brahmana, begged for his armour which he readily gave it to him. Hence he is known us a great donor.

61. If the ears are flat and less fleshy he will enjoy all luxuries; misers will have short ears; kings will have spear shaped ears; ears covered with hair indicate shortage of the span of life. 

62. Persons with big ears become kings or rich men; ears smooth, hanging down, fleshy and not firm indicate royalty. 

63. A man with depressed cheeks enjoys all luxuries; well-formed plump cheeks indicate that the man will become a minister. A man with nose like that of a parrot is happy, a man of dry nose lives long. 

64. A person with a nasal edge looking as if chiselled and deep nostrils will have intercourse with unworthy women. Good luck is indicated by a long nose. A thief has a curved nose. 

65. Flat nose indicates death and misfortune; a long straight nose with small nostrils and well defined curvature at the tip indicates royalty. 

66. The nose bent towards the right indicates cruelty. A sudden spasm of sneeze indicates strength; if it is continual it indicates delight and if resonant it indicates long life. 

67. If the eyes resemble petals of a lotus and are a little curved at the corners the men will be happy; A sinner has cat-like eyes and a wicked man has eyes tawny like honey. 

68. Squint-eyed persons are ruthless; green-eyed men are sinful; valorous persons have oblique dim eyes and com manders of armies have eyes like those of an elephant. 

69. Lordly persons have grave eyes, ministers have thick fleshy eyes, scholars have eyes like the blue lotus; good fortune is indicated by dark eyes. 

70. Dark pupils and pupils protruding out and round eyes indicate a sinner, persons destined to be poor will have pitiable eyes. 

71. Oily smooth skin indicates vast enjoyment of luxuries.1 If the navel is elevated the man is short-lived. Persons having wide elevated eyebrows are happy; persons with uneven eyebrows are indigent. 

1. The second part is not very clear.

72. Long unattached eyebrows indicate wealth, beautiful crescent-shaped eyebrows indicate richness; persons with broken eyebrows and with those depressed in the middle,

73. Are devoted to unworthy women and become devoid of children and wealth. If the forehead is high, wide conchlike and rugged.

74. The man becomes poor and those with crescent shaped foreheads become wealthy. Persons with foreheads wide like oystershells become preceptors: those with sinewy foreheads are sinful.

75. Persons with high foreheads with Svastika-shaped sinews become rich. Persons with depressed foreheads are fond of cruel deeds and deserve imprisonment.

76. Persons with foreheads covered (by hair on the head) are misers; high forcheads indicate royalty. Tearless gentle cry without piteous toes is auspicious.

77. Shrill cry with profuse perspiration is inauspicious. Untrembling mild laughter is excellent; laughter with the eyes closed indicates sin.

78. Frequent laughter indicates defect and the onset of madness. Three lines along the forehead indicate longevity upto hundred years.

79. If there are four lines, the man will become a king and live upto ninety-five years. If there is no line on the forehead, the man lives upto ninety years. If the lines are broken, the man will be guilty of sodomy. 

80. If the lines reach the hair on the head, the man lives upto eighty years. If there are five, six, seven or more lines, the span of life is fifty years. 

81. If there are curved lines, the man lives upto forty years; if the lines go to the eyebrows the span of life is thirty years; if the lines are curved towards the left the span of life is for twenty years; if the lines are short the man is short-lived. 

82. If the head is urnbrella-shaped, the man becomes rich or a king. A flat head indicates father's death; a circular head indicates richness.

83. A man having a pot-like head takes delight in sinful activities and is devoid of wealth. Black smooth slightly curled hairs,

84. Not too thickly grown with the ends, not snapped indicate royalty. Hairs having many roots, uneven in length, with gross tips, tawny-coloured,

85. Thickly grown, bent down, dark-blue in colour, indicate poverty. Whatever may be the limb, if it is very rough, sinewy and lacks in flesh.

86. It is a very inauspicious sign; otherwise it is auspicious. Persons destined to be kings have three which shall be wide, grave and long; five which are very fine; six which shall be high; four which shall be short,

87. Four which shall be red and seven which shall be even. Navel, voice and understanding--­­these shall be deep and grave.

88. Forehead, face and chest--these three shall be wide for a man. Eyes, sides, teeth, nose, mouth and back of the neck-these six shall be elevated.

89. Calves, neck, penis and back--these four shall be short. The hand, palate, lips and nails--these four shall be red.

90. The corners of the eyes, feet, tongue and lips shall be short. There are five which shall be fine-teeth, knots of fingers, nail, hair and skin.

91. There shall be long--the space between the nipples, hands, teeth, eyes and nose. I have mentioned the characteristic signs of men. I shall now describe those of women.

92. The queen's feet are smooth and even, the soles and nails are red; the toes are adjoining one another, the tips are raised; he who marries her shall surely be a king.

93. The heels shall be well hidden and plump. The soles shall have the lustre of lotus; they shall rarely perspire, are smooth and contain the lines of fish, goad or banner.

94. Thunderbolt, lotus and ploughshare--these signs indicate that a woman is destined to be a queen; otherwise not. The calves are devoid of hair, well-rounded and devoid of sinews--these are auspicious.

95. The joints shall not be manifestly clear and the knees are even. The thighs resemble the trunk of an elephant and are devoid of hair,

96. The vagina is of the shape of the figleaf and is very wide. Loins, forehead and thigh shall be high and arched like the back of a tortoise.

97-98. The clitoris shall be hidden. The hips shall be big and heavy. All the above limbs shall be large. The navel shall be fleshy, and curling to the right. The middle portion shall be bedecked by three circular wrinkles. The breasts shall be equally developed, devoid of hair and well-grown and firm.

99. The neck shall be firm, overgrown with hair soft and resembling conch. Red lips are auspicious; so also a circular fleshy plump face,

100. Teeth like the Kunda-flower (white) and a sweet voice like that of a cuckoo. Simplicity and consideration for others and absence of stubbornness in the speech pleasant to hear like that of a swan.

101. And a nose beautiful in appearance with symmetrical curves at the tip--all these are auspicious in women. The eyes shall be like the blue lotus close to the nose.

102. The brows should not be very thick. They must resemble the crescent moon. The forehead shall not be high. It should resemble the semi-circular moon and be devoid of hairs.

103. The ears shall not be fleshy. They must be smooth and of equal size. The hair shall be glossy, dark-blue and soft and slightly curling.

104. Symmetrical well-formed head is auspicious for women. The following marks should be present either in the palm or soles--horse, elephant, Shrivruksha (the Sacred fig tree), sacrificial pole, arrow, barley grain, iron club.

105. Banner, Chowri1, garland, a mount, earring, altar, Shankha, umbrella, lotus, fish, Svastika, a good chariot,

1. Bushy tail of Câmara (Bos Grunniens) used as a fly-flap or fan, and reckoned as one of the insignia of royalty. SSED p. 206.

106. Goad etc. Women with these signs shall become consorts of princes. The wrists shall be well-formed and well hidden (by flesh), the hands shall be soft like the inner part of a lotus.

107. The palms shall neither be depressed nor elevated. Linear marks (as hereinafter mentioned) shall indicate continued matrimonial bliss in women. The line starting from the wrist and going upto the middle finger

108. Or in the palm or in the upper part of the instep is auspicious. The husband shall be very happy and even win a kingdom.

109. The line arising from the foot of the little finger shall make her live upto hundred years. If there is a line between the index finger and the middle finger it indicates chastity in women.

110. The line from the foot of the thumb, if short, makes the woman short-lived; if long, blesses the woman with sons; if faded the woman shall be proud.

111. If that line is broken in many places the woman is shortlived; if it is long and unbroken the woman enjoys longevity; all auspicious marks of woman have been mentioned; contrary signs are inauspicious.

112. If the palm is placed on the ground and the little finger and the ring finger do not touch the ground, she is surely a whore. If the thumb goes beyond the root of the index finger that too is inauspicious similarly.

113. If the calves are elevated or have protruding sinews and are hairy and fleshy; if the belly resembles a pot.

114. And the private parts are curved to the left and a bit depressed the woman becomes unhappy. If the neck is short it indicates poverty; if it is very long--destruction of the family.

115. If it is very stout the woman becomes very fierce, there is no doubt about this. Squint in the eyes, dark blue or tawny in the eyes, roving eyes--these indicate absence of chastity.

116. If when she smiles two dimples are seen in the cheeks, she is surely one adultress. If the forehead hangs down the woman kills her brother-in-law.

117. If the belly hangs down she kills her father-in-law; and if the buttocks hang down, she kills her husband. A moustache-like growth of hair above the upper lip is inauspicious for the husband.

118. Hairy breasts are inauspicious and uneven ears too are inauspicious. Sharp and uneven teeth indicate misery.

119. If the gum is dark blue, she is a thief, if the teeth are Jong, she will bring about the death of her husband. If the hands resemble those of Rakshasas, wolves or Crows,

120. If they are sinewy, uneven and dry (wrinkled), the woman becomes poor. An elevated upper lip indicates quarrelsome nature and harshness in speech.

121. These defects are very great in ugly women. If there is beauty some of these defects can be ignored. I have mentioned the characteristics of men and women. Now I shall mention something informative.