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
ہمارے اپنے گھروں میں ہی وہ ہمارے مال کے سولہ—بلکہ اکیس—حصے تک لے جاتے ہیں۔ اُس مال سے محروم ہو کر ہمارے لیے کیسی زندگی یا کیسا جنم باقی رہ جائے گا؟
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’.