Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35
अर्थश्चेत्सर्वथारक्ष्य इति कैश्चिदुदाहृतम् । तत्कथं न हरिश्चंद्रोऽरक्षत्कुशिकनंदने
arthaścetsarvathārakṣya iti kaiścidudāhṛtam | tatkathaṃ na hariścaṃdro'rakṣatkuśikanaṃdane
কেউ কেউ বলেন, অর্থ (ধন) সর্বতোভাবে রক্ষাযোগ্য। তবে কুশিকনন্দন (বিশ্বামিত্র)-এর সম্মুখে রাজা হরিশ্চন্দ্র তা কেন রক্ষা করতে পারলেন না?
Skanda (deduced, Kāśī-khaṇḍa norm: Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī
Type: kshetra
Scene: Hariścandra, stripped of royal wealth, stands humbled before Viśvāmitra (Kuśika-nandana); the scene contrasts fading riches with the steady glow of dharma, with Kāśī’s ghats faintly evoked as the teaching backdrop.
FAQs
Wealth is contingent and vulnerable; even great kings lose it—therefore Dharma, not artha, should be treated as one’s true refuge.
Indirectly Kāśī: the chapter argues for Kāśī-born Dharma as the lasting safeguard beyond worldly artha.
None; it uses an Itihāsa exemplar (Hariścandra) as moral proof.