Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणानां धनं पुत्र सद्विद्या साधुसंगमः । सच्छ्रोत्रियास्त्वनूचाना दीक्षिताः सोमयाजिनः

Transliteration

brāhmaṇānāṃ dhanaṃ putra sadvidyā sādhusaṃgamaḥ | sacchrotriyāstvanūcānā dīkṣitāḥ somayājinaḥ

Translation

Ô fils, la vraie richesse d’un brāhmaṇa est la connaissance juste et la compagnie des vertueux : de dignes śrotriyas, des récitateurs savants, des dīkṣitas consacrés et des accomplisseurs du Soma-yajña.

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणानाम्: of the Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• धनम्: wealth
• धनम्: Pradhāna (Predicate-noun/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular)

• पुत्र: O son
• पुत्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन (Singular)

• सद्विद्या: true knowledge
• सद्विद्या: Pradhāna (Predicate-noun/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत् (प्रातिपदिक) + विद्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• साधुसंगमः: association with the virtuous
• साधुसंगमः: Pradhāna (Predicate-noun/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधु (प्रातिपदिक) + संगम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• सच्छ्रोत्रियाः: true śrotriyas (learned Vedic scholars)
• सच्छ्रोत्रियाः: Pradhāna (Predicate-noun/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत् (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रोत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तु: and/indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-निपात (particle of contrast/emphasis)

• अनूचानाः: those who have studied (Veda)
• अनूचानाः: Pradhāna (Predicate-noun/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनूचान (प्रातिपदिक; ‘अनूचाना’ इति विशेष-शब्दः)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• दीक्षिताः: initiated (consecrated) ones
• दीक्षिताः: Pradhāna (Predicate-noun/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीक्षित (प्रातिपदिक; √दिक्ष् (धातु) से निष्पन्न)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• सोमयाजिनः: performers of Soma-sacrifice
• सोमयाजिनः: Pradhāna (Predicate-noun/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम (प्रातिपदिक) + याजिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context) narrating to Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘putra’ (son) addressed within the narrative

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An elder instructs a young householder in Kāśī: a quiet courtyard near a ghat, palm-leaf manuscripts, Vedic reciters seated, a dīkṣita with sacred marks, and a soma-yāga memory evoked through ritual vessels.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• śrotriya
• Soma-yajña

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

For a brāhmaṇa, real wealth is knowledge and saintly association, not material accumulation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction occurs within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa setting of Kāśī, emphasizing the culture of Vedic virtue associated with sacred Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Soma-yāga is referenced (Soma-sacrifice performers), implying esteem for Vedic sacrificial discipline.