Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

दारिद्र्यमस्य बालस्य कथं प्राप्तं महामुने । दारिद्र्यं पुनरुद्धूय कथं राज्यमवाप्स्यति

Transliteration

dāridryamasya bālasya kathaṃ prāptaṃ mahāmune | dāridryaṃ punaruddhūya kathaṃ rājyamavāpsyati

Translation

Ô grand sage, comment cet enfant en est-il venu à souffrir la pauvreté ? Et, après avoir rejeté cette misère, comment recouvrera-t-il la souveraineté et la fortune royale ?

Word by Word

• दारिद्र्यम्: poverty
• दारिद्र्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दारिद्र्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• अस्य: of this (boy)
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• बालस्य: of the boy
• बालस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Prashna/Avyaya (Interrogative modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• प्राप्तम्: has come about / has been obtained
• प्राप्तम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत्-प्रत्ययान्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगे ‘प्राप्तम्’ = ‘has occurred/has been obtained’

• महामुने: O great sage
• महामुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामुनि (प्रातिपदिक: महा + मुनि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• दारिद्र्यम्: poverty
• दारिद्र्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दारिद्र्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Avyaya (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• उद्धूय: having shaken off / having removed
• उद्धूय: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + धू (धातु) → उद्धूय (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund)

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Prashna/Avyaya (Interrogative modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• राज्यम्: kingdom
• राज्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• अवाप्स्यति: will obtain
• अवाप्स्यति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Unspecified questioner (addressing Śāṇḍilya as 'mahāmune')

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A worried parent (or petitioner) addresses a great sage, pointing to a young boy in ragged attire; the setting suggests an āśrama or courtly hall turned into a place of counsel, with the question hovering between fate and remedy.

Characters & Entities

• Śāṇḍilya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames poverty and prosperity as karmically conditioned and asks for a dharmic remedy rather than a merely worldly solution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is on karmic causality and the path to restoration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly in this verse; the question anticipates a remedy that will be explained by the sage.