Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20
अर्थार्थी जीव लोकोऽयं स्मशानमपि सेवते । जनितारमपि त्यक्त्वा निःस्वं यांति सुता अपि
arthārthī jīva loko'yaṃ smaśānamapi sevate | janitāramapi tyaktvā niḥsvaṃ yāṃti sutā api
یہ جیتا جاگتا جہان دولت کی طلب میں شمشان تک جا پہنچتا ہے۔ حتیٰ کہ بیٹے بھی اپنے جنم دینے والے باپ کو چھوڑ کر، جو مفلس ہو جائے اس سے دور چلے جاتے ہیں۔
An unnamed renunciate/narrator within the Tīrthamāhātmya
Type: kshetra
Scene: A crowd searching for wealth in a cremation ground—scavenging, bargaining—while a penniless old father sits abandoned; sons walk away; in the distance a pilgrim lights a lamp and prays, symbolizing dharma as refuge.
FAQs
When relationships depend on money, they collapse with poverty; therefore one should seek refuge in dharma, not in artha.
No named tirtha appears in this verse; the cremation ground is used as an image of how far greed can drive people.
None; it is a social-spiritual admonition about greed and the unreliability of wealth-based bonds.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Skanda Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.