Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 14
स्वर्शेषु षोडशं चैकविंशंगृह्णंति नो धनम् । धनेन तेन हीनानां कीदृशं जन्म नो भवेत्
svarśeṣu ṣoḍaśaṃ caikaviṃśaṃgṛhṇaṃti no dhanam | dhanena tena hīnānāṃ kīdṛśaṃ janma no bhavet
వారు మా ఇళ్లలోనే మా ధనంలో పదహారు—అంతేకాదు ఇరవై ఒకటి—భాగాల వరకు తీసుకుపోతారు. ఆ ధనము లేకపోతే మా జీవితం (లేదా జన్మ) ఎలా ఉండును?
Śātātapa (sage)
Tirtha: Mahī–Sāgara-saṅgama (contextual)
Type: sangam
Listener: Sages / householders as implied voice within the narrative
Scene: Householders speak with worry: figures inside a modest home count diminished coins/grain; outside, threatening collectors/thieves loom; the sacred journey’s promise is shadowed by economic fear.
FAQs
Loss of one’s rightful ‘wealth’—material or spiritual—causes suffering; the text prepares for identifying subtler thieves that rob inner treasure.
The verse continues the Mahī–Sāgara-Saṅgama episode rather than praising a new site.
None; it describes the extent of loss attributed to the ‘thieves’.