Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

स्वर्शेषु षोडशं चैकविंशंगृह्णंति नो धनम् । धनेन तेन हीनानां कीदृशं जन्म नो भवेत्

Transliteration

svarśeṣu ṣoḍaśaṃ caikaviṃśaṃgṛhṇaṃti no dhanam | dhanena tena hīnānāṃ kīdṛśaṃ janma no bhavet

Translation

In unseren eigenen Häusern nehmen sie uns sechzehn—ja sogar einundzwanzig—Anteile unseres Reichtums. Wenn uns dieses Gut fehlt, welche Art von Leben oder Wiedergeburt bliebe uns dann?

Word by Word

• स्वर्शेषु: in the markets/at the toll-stations (svarśa)
• स्वर्शेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), बहुवचन

• षोडशम्: sixteen (units)
• षोडशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षोडश (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (संख्यावाचक)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक (and)

• एकविंशम्: twenty-one (units)
• एकविंशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एकविंश (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन (संख्यावाचक)

• गृह्णन्ति: they take
• गृह्णन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• नः: our
• नः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध) बहुवचन (enclitic form)

• धनम्: wealth, money
• धनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• धनेन: by/with wealth
• धनेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• तेन: by that
• तेन: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-एकवचन (धनेन इति विशेष्ये)

• हीनानाम्: of those deprived (of it)
• हीनानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (generic), षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• कीदृशम्: what kind of
• कीदृशम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कीदृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचन (जन्म इति विशेष्ये; प्रश्नार्थ)

• जन्म: birth
• जन्म: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• नः: our
• नः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध) बहुवचन (enclitic form)

• भवेत्: might be, would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/संभावना), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Śātātapa (sage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahī–Sāgara-saṅgama (contextual)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages / householders as implied voice within the narrative

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Householders speak with worry: figures inside a modest home count diminished coins/grain; outside, threatening collectors/thieves loom; the sacred journey’s promise is shadowed by economic fear.

Characters & Entities

• caurāḥ (implied thieves)
• dhanam (wealth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Loss of one’s rightful ‘wealth’—material or spiritual—causes suffering; the text prepares for identifying subtler thieves that rob inner treasure.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse continues the Mahī–Sāgara-Saṅgama episode rather than praising a new site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes the extent of loss attributed to the ‘thieves’.