Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

सदाचरणगोप्येष सुखयानचरः कृती । अदरिद्रोपि मेधावी सोभूत्पापदरिद्रधीः

Transliteration

sadācaraṇagopyeṣa sukhayānacaraḥ kṛtī | adaridropi medhāvī sobhūtpāpadaridradhīḥ

Translation

كانت زلّته مستورةً برداء حسن السيرة؛ وكان يمضي في رخاء، مقتدرًا ماهرًا. ومع أنه لم يكن فقيرًا في المال وكان ذا ذكاء، فقد صار بالخطيئة «فقيرَ العقل».

Word by Word

• सदाचरणगोप्यः: whose good conduct was kept hidden
• सदाचरणगोप्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सदा (अव्यय) + आचरण (प्रातिपदिक) + गोप्य (गुप्-धातु, यत्-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्; तत्पुरुषः (सदाचरणं गोप्यं यस्य = whose good conduct is hidden)

• एष: this man
• एष: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सुखयानचरः: moving in comfort/luxury
• सुखयानचरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक) + यान (प्रातिपदिक) + चर (चर्-धातु, अच्-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्; तत्पुरुषः (सुखयाने चरः = moving in comfort/with pleasant conveyance)

• कृती: capable, accomplished
• कृती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• अदरिद्रः: not poor
• अदरिद्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ (नञ्) + दरिद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्; नञ्-तत्पुरुषः (not poor)

• अपि: yet/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• मेधावी: intelligent
• मेधावी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मेधाविन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अभूत्: became/was
• अभूत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पापदरिद्रधीः: one whose intellect was made poor by sin
• पापदरिद्रधीः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + दरिद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + धी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्; तत्पुरुषः (पापेन दरिद्रा धीः यस्य = whose mind was impoverished by sin)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (general frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni/ṛṣi audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A well-dressed man walks confidently through a city lane, but behind him a shadow-form (personified pāpa) clings; his face shows a faint crack of anxiety; a thin veil motif symbolizes ‘concealment’.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Outer respectability cannot hide inner wrongdoing; sin impoverishes the mind even when wealth and intelligence remain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching belongs to the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s moral framework; no particular tirtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a warning about concealed pāpa and the need for inner integrity.