Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

अर्थश्चेत्सर्वथारक्ष्य इति कैश्चिदुदाहृतम् । तत्कथं न हरिश्चंद्रोऽरक्षत्कुशिकनंदने

Transliteration

arthaścetsarvathārakṣya iti kaiścidudāhṛtam | tatkathaṃ na hariścaṃdro'rakṣatkuśikanaṃdane

Translation

Algunos afirman que la riqueza (artha) puede salvaguardarse en todo momento. Si así fuera, ¿cómo es que el rey Hariścandra no pudo protegerla cuando se enfrentó al hijo de Kuśika (Viśvāmitra)?

Word by Word

• arthaḥ: wealth, material gain
• arthaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• cet: if
• cet: Sambandha/Conjunction (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cet (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional particle)

• sarvathā: in every way, completely
• sarvathā: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvathā (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• rakṣyaḥ: must be protected
• rakṣyaḥ: Predicate complement (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rakṣ (धातु) + ya (यत्/य-प्रत्यय, भाव्य)
• Form: कृदन्त (भाव्य/gerundive), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘to be protected’

• iti: thus
• iti: Discourse marker (उद्धरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणसूचक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• kaiścit: by some (people)
• kaiścit: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (किम्-प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया, बहुवचन; अनिश्चित (indefinite) ‘by some’

• udāhṛtam: has been declared
• udāhṛtam: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-ā-√hṛ (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि ‘has been stated/declared’

• tat: then/that being so
• tat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; वाक्योपक्रमे ‘then/that’

• katham: how?
• katham: Prashna (प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• na: not
• na: Pratishedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation)

• hariścaṃdraḥ: Hariścandra
• hariścaṃdraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक) + candra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (नाम); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• arakṣat: protected
• arakṣat: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; नकार-पूर्वकं (a- augment)

• kuśika-nandane: in/for Kuśika’s son (i.e., Viśvāmitra)
• kuśika-nandane: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuśika (प्रातिपदिक) + nandana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (kuśikasya nandanaḥ); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī-khaṇḍa norm: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

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.

Characters & Entities

• Hariścandra
• Kuśika-nandana (Viśvāmitra)
• Artha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Wealth is contingent and vulnerable; even great kings lose it—therefore Dharma, not artha, should be treated as one’s true refuge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly Kāśī: the chapter argues for Kāśī-born Dharma as the lasting safeguard beyond worldly artha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it uses an Itihāsa exemplar (Hariścandra) as moral proof.