Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 49
तस्मादल्पतपस्त्वाद्वै त्वं चाहं च महामते । प्राप्यापि राजसांनिध्यं राजलक्ष्म्या न भाजनम्
tasmādalpatapastvādvai tvaṃ cāhaṃ ca mahāmate | prāpyāpi rājasāṃnidhyaṃ rājalakṣmyā na bhājanam
Oleh karena itu, wahai yang berjiwa mulia, karena kau dan aku hanya memiliki sedikit pertapaan, meskipun kita telah mencapai kedekatan dengan kerajaan, kita bukanlah wadah yang pantas untuk kemegahan dan keberuntungan sejati seorang raja.
Sunīti (addressing Dhruva)
Listener: Pilgrim-audience/ṛṣis in frame narrative (implicit)
Scene: A modest queen (Sunīti) speaks privately to young Dhruva in a palace interior, emphasizing their limited tapas and unfitness for royal fortune; subdued light, restrained gestures.
FAQs
Worldly rank alone does not confer true prosperity; inner merit gained through tapas is the real qualification.
No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it occurs within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s broader sacred narrative context of Kāśī.
No explicit rite is prescribed here; the emphasis is on tapas (austerity) as the spiritual cause of attainment.