Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 107

Devanagari script

पश्यन्त्या गोत्रिभिः सर्वं गृहीतं धनसंचयम् । कालेन महता देव मृताऽहं द्विजमंदिरे

Transliteration

paśyantyā gotribhiḥ sarvaṃ gṛhītaṃ dhanasaṃcayam | kālena mahatā deva mṛtā'haṃ dvijamaṃdire

Translation

ขณะญาติวงศ์ของข้าพเจ้ามองดูอยู่ ทรัพย์สมบัติที่สั่งสมทั้งหมดก็ถูกยึดไป ครั้นกาลล่วงนานนัก ข้าแต่พระผู้เป็นเจ้า ข้าพเจ้าสิ้นชีวิตในเรือนของพราหมณ์

Word by Word

• पश्यन्त्या: while (I was) seeing
• पश्यन्त्या: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Concomitant action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √पश् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), कर्तरि (Feminine, Instrumental, Singular; ‘while seeing’)

• गोत्रिभिः: by kinsmen/clansmen
• गोत्रिभिः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोत्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Plural)

• सर्वम्: all
• सर्वम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• गृहीतम्: seized; taken
• गृहीतम्: Karma-samānādhikaraṇa (Object complement/कर्मसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √ग्रह् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त), कर्मणि (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Singular; ‘taken’)

• धनसंचयम्: accumulated wealth; hoard
• धनसंचयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन (प्रातिपदिक) + संचय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

• कालेन: by time
• कालेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Singular)

• महता: great; mighty
• महता: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Singular)

• देव: O lord
• देव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular)

• मृता: dead
• मृता: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त), कर्तरि (Feminine, Nominative, Singular; ‘dead’)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Nominative, Singular)

• द्विजमन्दिरे: in a Brahmin’s house
• द्विजमन्दिरे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + मन्दिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (Neuter, Locative, Singular)

Speaker

The wife/narrator continuing her account, addressing 'deva' (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lamenting figure recounts how relatives watch as officials seize a stored hoard; the speaker later lies dying in a brāhmaṇa’s modest house—wealth gone, time triumphant.

Characters & Entities

• Gotra/kinsmen
• Dvija (brāhmaṇa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Wealth hoarded is not protected by attachment—time and circumstance strip it away; only dharma accompanies the soul beyond death.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is situated in the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa, where tīrtha-glory is reinforced through moral narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed; the implied instruction is to transform wealth into dharmic acts (dāna, service, sacred works) before it is lost.