Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

अर्थश्चेत्सर्वथारक्ष्य इति कैश्चिदुदाहृतम् । तत्कथं न हरिश्चंद्रोऽरक्षत्कुशिकनंदने

Transliteration

arthaścetsarvathārakṣya iti kaiścidudāhṛtam | tatkathaṃ na hariścaṃdro'rakṣatkuśikanaṃdane

Translation

Certains disent que la richesse (artha) peut, en toute circonstance, être préservée. Si tel était le cas, comment le roi Hariścandra n’a-t-il pu la protéger lorsqu’il fit face au fils 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.