Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 89

Devanagari script

न क्वापि लब्धवान्भिक्षां भाग्यहीनो धनं यथा । अथ चिंतितवान्व्यासः परिश्रांतः परिभ्रमन्

Transliteration

na kvāpi labdhavānbhikṣāṃ bhāgyahīno dhanaṃ yathā | atha ciṃtitavānvyāsaḥ pariśrāṃtaḥ paribhraman

Translation

Wandering about in weariness, Vyāsa found no alms anywhere—just as a luckless man finds no wealth. Then Vyāsa began to ponder.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• kvāpi: anywhere
• kvāpi: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva + api (अव्यय)
• Form: स्थानवाचक-अव्यय 'क्व' + निपात 'अपि' (indefinite adverb: anywhere)

• labdhavān: (he) obtained
• labdhavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु) + ktavatu (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्तवतु-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past active participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोग (having obtained)

• bhikṣām: alms
• bhikṣām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhikṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• bhāgya-hīnaḥ: devoid of fortune
• bhāgya-hīnaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhāgya (प्रातिपदिक) + hīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (bhāgyena hīnaḥ); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• dhanam: wealth
• dhanam: Upamāna/Upameya (Simile term/उपमान-उपमेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• yathā: as, like
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative particle: as/like)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (then/thereupon)

• ciṃtitavān: (he) thought
• ciṃtitavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: cint (धातु) + ktavatu (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्तवतु-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past active participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि (having thought)

• vyāsaḥ: Vyāsa
• vyāsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• pariśrāntaḥ: exhausted
• pariśrāntaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari-śram (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle used adjectivally); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (exhausted)

• paribhraman: wandering about
• paribhraman: Kriya (Concomitant action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-bhram (धातु) + śatṛ (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणभावे (while wandering)

Speaker

Narrator (Kāśīkhaṇḍa context; traditionally Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (typical frame; not explicit in excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa, travel-worn, walks through Kāśī lanes with an empty begging bowl, pausing in thought beneath temple spires and crowded ghāṭa streets that paradoxically offer no alms.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even great sages accept dependence and humility; apparent lack is a prompt for reflection rather than pride.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), the sacred city celebrated throughout the Kāśī-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse sets up the dharmic theme of bhikṣā (alms) and renunciant conduct.