ज्ञानवृद्धास्तपोवृद्धा ये च वृद्धा बहुश्रुताः । ते सर्वे धनवृद्धस्य द्वारि तिष्ठन्ति किंकराः
jñānavṛddhāstapovṛddhā ye ca vṛddhā bahuśrutāḥ | te sarve dhanavṛddhasya dvāri tiṣṭhanti kiṃkarāḥ
那些在智慧上增上、在苦行上增上、并且年高而博闻诸经者——他们全都像仆役一般,站在富人门前。
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced for Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)
Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (typical frame)
Scene: A wealthy householder seated at a grand doorway; outside stand an aged scholar, a tapasvin with matted hair, and a venerable elder—visibly waiting like attendants, conveying the inversion of true honor.
It warns that worldly systems often subordinate wisdom and austerity to wealth, encouraging detachment and righteous patronage.
No tīrtha is named; the verse is moral-social instruction.
No explicit ritual; it indirectly urges ethical use of wealth to support true learning and tapas without exploitation.