Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 93
नन्दभद्र उवाच । शुद्धप्रज्ञ किमेतच्च पापिनोऽपि नरा यदा । मोदमानाः प्रदृश्यन्ते दारैरपि धनैरपि
nandabhadra uvāca | śuddhaprajña kimetacca pāpino'pi narā yadā | modamānāḥ pradṛśyante dārairapi dhanairapi
നന്ദഭദ്രന് പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ ശുദ്ധപ്രജ്ഞേ! ഇതെന്താണ്? പാപികളായ മനുഷ്യരും ചിലപ്പോള് ഭാര്യകളോടും ധനത്തോടും കൂടി ആനന്ദത്തോടെ കാണപ്പെടുന്നതെങ്ങനെ?
Nandabhadra
Listener: Bāla (addressed as ‘śuddha-prajña’)
Scene: Two interlocutors in a hermitage/temple courtyard: Nandabhadra respectfully questions a serene sage; in the background, a wealthy household scene symbolizes the ‘sinful yet rejoicing’ observation (wives, wealth), rendered as a distant vignette.
FAQs
It raises the classic dharmic question of why the wicked sometimes appear to thrive, preparing for a karmic explanation.
None; this is a philosophical inquiry within the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa narrative.
None; it is a question about karma and visible worldly outcomes.