Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

सदाचरणगोप्येष सुखयानचरः कृती । अदरिद्रोपि मेधावी सोभूत्पापदरिद्रधीः

Transliteration

sadācaraṇagopyeṣa sukhayānacaraḥ kṛtī | adaridropi medhāvī sobhūtpāpadaridradhīḥ

Translation

Sa faute demeurait cachée sous le manteau d’une bonne conduite; il allait dans l’aisance, habile et capable. Bien qu’il ne fût pas pauvre de biens et qu’il fût intelligent, par le péché il devint « pauvre d’esprit ».

Word by Word

• सदाचरणगोप्यः: whose good conduct was kept hidden
• सदाचरणगोप्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सदा (अव्यय) + आचरण (प्रातिपदिक) + गोप्य (गुप्-धातु, यत्-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्; तत्पुरुषः (सदाचरणं गोप्यं यस्य = whose good conduct is hidden)

• एष: this man
• एष: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सुखयानचरः: moving in comfort/luxury
• सुखयानचरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक) + यान (प्रातिपदिक) + चर (चर्-धातु, अच्-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्; तत्पुरुषः (सुखयाने चरः = moving in comfort/with pleasant conveyance)

• कृती: capable, accomplished
• कृती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• अदरिद्रः: not poor
• अदरिद्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ (नञ्) + दरिद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्; नञ्-तत्पुरुषः (not poor)

• अपि: yet/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• मेधावी: intelligent
• मेधावी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मेधाविन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अभूत्: became/was
• अभूत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पापदरिद्रधीः: one whose intellect was made poor by sin
• पापदरिद्रधीः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + दरिद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + धी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्; तत्पुरुषः (पापेन दरिद्रा धीः यस्य = whose mind was impoverished by sin)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (general frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni/ṛṣi audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A well-dressed man walks confidently through a city lane, but behind him a shadow-form (personified pāpa) clings; his face shows a faint crack of anxiety; a thin veil motif symbolizes ‘concealment’.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Outer respectability cannot hide inner wrongdoing; sin impoverishes the mind even when wealth and intelligence remain.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching belongs to the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s moral framework; no particular tirtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a warning about concealed pāpa and the need for inner integrity.