Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

त्यागो गुणो वित्तवतां वित्तं त्यागवतां गुणः । परस्परवियुक्तौ तु वित्त त्यागौ विडम्बनम्

Transliteration

tyāgo guṇo vittavatāṃ vittaṃ tyāgavatāṃ guṇaḥ | parasparaviyuktau tu vitta tyāgau viḍambanam

Translation

สำหรับผู้มั่งมี การสละทานคือคุณธรรมแท้; สำหรับผู้มีใจสละ ทรัพย์เองก็กลับเป็นคุณธรรมได้ แต่เมื่อทรัพย์กับทานแยกจากกันแล้ว ทั้งความร่ำรวยและความสละก็กลายเป็นเพียงเรื่องน่าขัน

Word by Word

• tyāgaḥ: renunciation/giving
• tyāgaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tyāga (त्याग; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• guṇaḥ: a virtue/quality
• guṇaḥ: Samanaadhikarana (Predicate/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṇa (गुण; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विधेय (predicate nominative)

• vittavatām: of the wealthy
• vittavatām: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vittavat (वित्तवत्; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; मतुप्/वत्-प्रत्ययान्त (possessive)

• vittam: wealth
• vittam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vitta (वित्त; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• tyāgavatām: of the renunciant/generous
• tyāgavatām: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tyāgavat (त्यागवत्; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; वत्-प्रत्ययान्त

• guṇaḥ: a virtue
• guṇaḥ: Samanaadhikarana (Predicate/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṇa (गुण; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विधेय

• paraspara-viyuktau: when (the two are) separated from each other
• paraspara-viyuktau: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paraspara + viyukta (परस्पर + वियुक्त; √yuj युज् + वि + क्त, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), द्विवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (परस्परेण वियुक्तौ)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Discourse marker (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (तु)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/अन्वय-बोधक (but/indeed)

• vitta: wealth
• vitta: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vitta (वित्त; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), द्विवचन (छान्दस/पद्ये प्रथमा-द्विवचन-रूपं; intended with tyāgau)

• tyāgau: renunciation (as the pair with wealth)
• tyāgau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tyāga (त्याग; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), द्विवचन

• viḍambanam: a mockery/farce
• viḍambanam: Samanaadhikarana (Predicate/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viḍambana (विडम्बन; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय

Speaker

Narrator (context: Maṇibhadra speaking/being described within the upākhyāna; explicit speaker not marked in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Allegorical pairing: Wealth (Lakṣmī) and Charity (Tyāga) shown as complementary companions; when separated, both appear diminished and mocked by onlookers.

Characters & Entities

• Maṇibhadra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Wealth gains dharmic meaning only when joined to generosity; charity without the capacity to support it and riches without giving are both spiritually hollow.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya, where moral instruction supports the praise of the sacred locale.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes dāna (charitable giving) as the dharmic use of wealth.