Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 83
पुनः कर्ममयैः पाशैर्बद्धा जन्मनिजन्मनि । निरयेषु प्रपच्यंते केवलं कर्म्मरूपिणः
punaḥ karmamayaiḥ pāśairbaddhā janmanijanmani | nirayeṣu prapacyaṃte kevalaṃ karmmarūpiṇaḥ
مقيَّدون مرة بعد مرة، مولدًا بعد مولد، بأغلالٍ منسوجةٍ من الكَرْما؛ والذين لا يرون لأنفسهم هويةً إلا الكَرْما يُعذَّبون في الجحيم كأنهم يُطبخون.
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages (Mahēśvara Khaṇḍa convention)
Tirtha: Kedāra
Type: kshetra
Scene: Souls entangled in rope-like nooses labeled ‘karma’ are dragged through cycles of birth and toward fiery hells; above, a compassionate Śiva holds a trident that severs the noose for the surrendered devotee.
FAQs
Karma pursued as an end in itself becomes bondage; freedom comes by orienting action toward Īśvara and higher dharma, not mere ritualism.
Set within Kedāra Khaṇḍa’s Kedārakṣetra narrative frame; the verse itself is a general doctrinal warning rather than a site-description.
No explicit rite is prescribed; the implied corrective is devotion and surrender to Īśvara so that karma does not become a ‘pāśa’ (bond).