Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17
कच्चित्ते सफला वेदाः कच्चित्ते सफलं श्रुतम् । कच्चित्ते सफला दाराः कच्चित्ते सफलं धनम्
kaccitte saphalā vedāḥ kaccitte saphalaṃ śrutam | kaccitte saphalā dārāḥ kaccitte saphalaṃ dhanam
« Tes Veda portent-ils du fruit ? Ton savoir entendu et appris (śruta) est-il fécond ? Ton épouse et ta vie de foyer portent-ils du fruit ? Ta richesse porte-t-elle du fruit ? »
Mārkaṇḍeya (implied by adjacent context)
Listener: Śaunaka-group (frame implied)
Scene: The sage, with calm authority, asks a sequence of probing questions; the king listens attentively, hands folded, as if undergoing a moral examination.
FAQs
Life’s pillars—scripture, learning, family, and wealth—must be judged by their dharmic ‘fruit,’ not mere possession.
No specific tīrtha is named; the teaching is ethical and applies within the pilgrimage narrative.
None directly; it sets up criteria for dharmic fulfillment that will be defined in the next verse.