Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

वालिशेष्वसहायेषु भवेद्भाग्यं सहायकृत् । अरण्यान्यां रणे गेहे ततो भाग्यं हि कारणम्

Transliteration

vāliśeṣvasahāyeṣu bhavedbhāgyaṃ sahāyakṛt | araṇyānyāṃ raṇe gehe tato bhāgyaṃ hi kāraṇam

Translation

Quand on ne demeure qu’avec de maigres restes et sans aucun secours, la fortune (bhāgya) devient l’auxiliaire. Dans la forêt, au combat ou dans sa propre maison, c’est bien la fortune qui décide.

Word by Word

• vāliśeṣu: among the vāliśas (the helpless/weak)
• vāliśeṣu: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāliśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• asahāyeṣu: among those without help
• asahāyeṣu: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-sahāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्गयुक्त विशेषण (negated adjective)

• bhavet: may be / would be
• bhavet: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• bhāgyam: fortune
• bhāgyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāgya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• sahāyakṛt: one who makes (someone) a helper / helper-making
• sahāyakṛt: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahāya + kṛt (कृ धातु-क्तिन्/कृत्-प्रत्यय; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्तरि-प्रयोगे कृत् (agent noun)

• araṇye: in the forest
• araṇye: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: araṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• anyām: in another (place)
• anyām: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; (araṇyām इति अपेक्षितम्—पाठभेद/सन्धि-प्रभाव)

• raṇe: in battle
• raṇe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• gehe: in the house
• gehe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: geha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• tataḥ: therefore
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः—सम्बन्ध/हेतु-निर्देशक (therefore/from that)

• bhāgyam: fortune
• bhāgyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāgya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• kāraṇam: the cause
• kāraṇam: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lone traveler with torn garments and a small bundle stands at a crossroads: one path to a dark forest, one to a battlefield with distant banners, one to a household doorway—above, an unseen hand of ‘Bhāgya’ guides like a protective presence.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In crisis—whether external or domestic—Daiva/Bhāgya can become the unseen support; humility and dharmic steadiness are implied.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is a general dharmic maxim within the Kāśī narrative context; it does not name a specific tīrtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a doctrinal statement about causality (bhāgya/daiva).