Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

यावन्नाक्रम्यते लुब्धो धनाध्यक्षो रणाजिरे । तावन्नार्पयते वित्तं यदा तत्संचितं सुरैः

Transliteration

yāvannākramyate lubdho dhanādhyakṣo raṇājire | tāvannārpayate vittaṃ yadā tatsaṃcitaṃ suraiḥ

Translation

«Tant que l’avide seigneur des richesses n’est pas assailli sur le champ de bataille, il ne cède pas ses trésors, bien que ces richesses aient été amassées par les dieux.»

Word by Word

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत् सम्बन्धे (as long as)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (not)

• ākramyate: is attacked / is assailed
• ākramyate: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-kram (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; धातु: आ-क्रम् (to attack/assail)

• lubdhaḥ: greedy
• lubdhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: lubdha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• dhana-adhyakṣaḥ: the treasurer / overseer of wealth
• dhana-adhyakṣaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhana (प्रातिपदik) + adhyakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समास: तत्पुरुष (धनस्य अध्यक्षः)

• raṇa-ajire: in the battlefield
• raṇa-ajire: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ajira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; समास: तत्पुरुष (रणस्य अजिरे)

• tāvat: so long / then
• tāvat: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Correlative temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत् सम्बन्धे (so long/then)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (not)

• arpayate: is offered / is given
• arpayate: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: arpay (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; धातु: अर्पय् (to offer/give)

• vittam: wealth
• vittam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vitta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• yadā: when
• yadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (when)

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण

• saṃcitam: accumulated
• saṃcitam: Kriyā (Predicative to vittaṃ)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-cit (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; धातु: सम्-चि (collected/accumulated)

• suraiḥ: by the gods
• suraiḥ: Karta (Agent in passive sense)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual speaker within the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A battlefield metaphor: the ‘lord of wealth’ (Kubera-like figure) clutches treasure; only when challenged does he yield what was gathered by the gods.

Characters & Entities

• Dhanādhyakṣa (lord of wealth)
• Suras (gods)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Wealth should align with dharma; hoarding and greed collapse when confronted by rightful force or cosmic justice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya of the Prabhāsa region, framing moral instruction amid sacred-place praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse is ethical and narrative in tone.