Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

दण्डी भिक्षां च वा कुर्यात्तदेव व्यसनं विना । यस्तिष्ठति न वैराग्यं याति नैव यतिर्हि सः

Transliteration

daṇḍī bhikṣāṃ ca vā kuryāttadeva vyasanaṃ vinā | yastiṣṭhati na vairāgyaṃ yāti naiva yatirhi saḥ

Translation

たとえ杖を携え托鉢しても、世俗の耽溺や過失なくそれを行うだけでは足りない。離欲（ヴァイラーギャ）に住さぬなら、彼は真にヤティとはならない。

Word by Word

• daṇḍī: a staff-bearing ascetic
• daṇḍī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṇḍin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; दण्डधारी (one who carries a staff)

• bhikṣām: alms
• bhikṣām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhikṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपातः

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पबोधक-निपातः (disjunctive particle)

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; निर्देशार्थकः

• eva: only/indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपातः (emphatic particle)

• vyasanam: misfortune/addiction/vice
• vyasanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyasana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• vinā: without
• vinā: Sambandha (Exclusion/वियोग)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपपद-विभक्त्यर्थक-अव्ययम्; ‘विना’ = without (सहसा तृतीया/द्वितीया-सम्बन्धः)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधकः

• tiṣṭhati: remains/stands
• tiṣṭhati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः

• vairāgyam: dispassion
• vairāgyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vairāgya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• yāti: attains/goes to
• yāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपातः

• yatiḥ: a renunciant
• yatiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Reason/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतुबोधक/निश्चयार्थक-निपातः (particle: for/indeed)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: didactic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A staff-bearing mendicant stands at a crossroads: one path shows mere costume and public alms-round; the other shows inner detachment—calm gaze, empty hands, and a heart turned inward.

Characters & Entities

• Daṇḍī
• Yati
• Vairāgya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

External marks of renunciation are insufficient; inner vairāgya is the defining criterion of true ascetic life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the broader tīrtha-māhātmya narrative by defining the worthy renunciant.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bhikṣā (alms-begging) as a regulated livelihood for an ascetic, coupled with freedom from vyasana (vices).