Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

रैक्व उवाच । एता गावस्तवैवास्तु निष्कभारस्तथा रथः । किमल्पेन ममानेन बहुकल्पेषु जीवतः

Transliteration

raikva uvāca | etā gāvastavaivāstu niṣkabhārastathā rathaḥ | kimalpena mamānena bahukalpeṣu jīvataḥ

Translation

ไรควะกล่าวว่า: “โคเหล่านี้จงเป็นของท่านเถิด ทั้งภาระนิษกะและราชรถก็เช่นกัน เราผู้ดำรงอยู่ผ่านกัลป์นับมากแล้ว จะมีประโยชน์อันใดกับของกำนัลเพียงน้อยนิดนี้”

Word by Word

• raikvaḥ: Raikva
• raikvaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raikva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘said’

• etāḥ: these
• etāḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• gāvaḥ: cows
• gāvaḥ: Karta (Subject/Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• tava: your
• tava: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic/only)

• astu: let (them) be
• astu: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘let it be’

• niṣka-bhāraḥ: the load of niṣkas
• niṣka-bhāraḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niṣka (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (niṣkānāṃ bhāraḥ)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘so/likewise’

• rathaḥ: the chariot
• rathaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kim: what (use)?
• kim: Sambandha (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative particle)

• alpena: with a little (gift)
• alpena: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: alpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; ‘with/by a little’

• mama: for me/of me
• mama: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• anena: by this
• anena: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (सर्वनाम)

• bahu-kalpeṣu: in many aeons
• bahu-kalpeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय ‘many kalpas’

• jīvataḥ: of (one) living
• jīvataḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jīvat (कृदन्त, √jīv)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्यय (present participle) ‘of (me) living’

Speaker

Raikva (Sayugvān)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Raikva rejects the lavish gifts with calm firmness; his face shows serene indifference; the king appears humbled, realizing the limits of wealth.

Characters & Entities

• Raikva
• Niṣka
• Kalpa
• Gavām (cows)
• Ratha (chariot)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Vairāgya (detachment) marks true wisdom—spiritual authority is not purchased by wealth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in the verse; it sits within Setukhaṇḍa’s sacred narrative environment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription; rather, the sage declines dāna, emphasizing inner qualification over transaction.