Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

संचितं यद्धनं पुंभिर्नयसन्मार्गगामिभिः । तत्काश्यां विनियुज्येत क्लेशायेतरथा भवेत्

Transliteration

saṃcitaṃ yaddhanaṃ puṃbhirnayasanmārgagāmibhiḥ | tatkāśyāṃ viniyujyeta kleśāyetarathā bhavet

Translation

جو مال اُن لوگوں نے جمع کیا ہے جو راہِ حق پر نہیں چلتے، اسے کاشی میں دھرم کے کاموں میں صرف کرنا چاہیے؛ ورنہ وہی مال رنج و کلفت کا سبب بن جاتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• saṃcitam: accumulated
• saṃcitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃcita (कृदन्त; √ci सञ्चयने)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) — past passive participle; used adjectivally qualifying ‘dhanam’

• yat: which
• yat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• dhanam: wealth
• dhanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• puṃbhiḥ: by men
• puṃbhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pumān (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन

• naya: policy; conduct
• naya: Samasa-purvapada (Compound member/समासपद)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद

• sat: good; right
• sat: Samasa-madhyapada (Compound member/समासपद)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक; √as सत्तायाम्)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद; ‘सत्’ = good/right

• mārga: path
• mārga: Samasa-madhyapada (Compound member/समासपद)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद

• gāmibhiḥ: by those who follow the right path
• gāmibhiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gāmin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; समासः = नय-सत्-मार्ग-गामिन् (तत्पुरुषः) ‘good-path-following’

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; निर्देश (demonstrative) referring to ‘dhanam’

• kāśyām: in Kāśī
• kāśyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• viniyujyeta: should be employed/used
• viniyujyeta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yuj (युज् योगे/नियोजने)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; उपसर्गः वि-नि-

• kleśāya: for suffering
• kleśāya: Sampradana (Recipient/Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kleśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन; प्रयोजन/सम्प्रदानार्थ (for the purpose of)

• itarathā: otherwise
• itarathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: itarathā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner)

• bhavet: would be; would become
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू सत्तायाम्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context, typically Skanda instructing Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhūpati (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A remorseful householder arrives at Kāśī’s ghāṭas with offerings; priests distribute food and cloth to pilgrims and the poor; Viśveśvara’s temple spire rises in the background, suggesting wealth transformed into merit.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Wealth gains purity and becomes dharmic when offered or used for sacred purposes in Kāśī; otherwise it turns into a source of distress.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī), praised as a place where resources can be sanctified through dharmic use.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A general prescription of dāna/holy expenditure in Kāśī—deploying one’s wealth there for meritorious acts.