Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 94
सत्यसन्ध उवाच । संन्यस्तोऽहं द्विजश्रेष्ठा वृत्तिं कर्तुं न च क्षमः । यदि मे स्यात्पुमान्कश्चिदन्वयेऽपि न संशयः
satyasandha uvāca | saṃnyasto'haṃ dvijaśreṣṭhā vṛttiṃ kartuṃ na ca kṣamaḥ | yadi me syātpumānkaścidanvaye'pi na saṃśayaḥ
Satyasaṃdha berkata: “Wahai yang terbaik antara kaum dwija, aku telah bersannyāsa dan tidak mampu lagi mencari nafkah duniawi. Andai ada seorang waris lelaki dalam keturunanku—tentang hal itu tiada keraguan.”
Satyasaṃdha (the renounced king)
Listener: dvija-śreṣṭhas (brāhmaṇas)
Scene: A renounced king (or king-like figure) in simple ochre cloth speaks to brāhmaṇas, expressing inability to maintain livelihood and longing for a male heir; background shows a palace fading into an ascetic hut, symbolizing transition.
FAQs
Renunciation limits one’s worldly agency; dharma must be balanced with responsibility to lineage and society when one has held royal office.
Implicitly within the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya narrative setting; the verse itself focuses on the king’s renunciant condition.
None directly; the verse addresses saṃnyāsa and the practical inability to maintain worldly affairs.