Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 98

Devanagari script

न कश्चिद्यजनं चक्रे न दानं न च तर्पणम् । देवतानां पितॄणां च मनुष्याणां विशेषतः

Transliteration

na kaścidyajanaṃ cakre na dānaṃ na ca tarpaṇam | devatānāṃ pitṝṇāṃ ca manuṣyāṇāṃ viśeṣataḥ

Translation

«لم يُقِم أحدٌ يَجْنَا (عبادةً وقرابين)، ولا قدَّم دَانَا (صدقة)، ولا أتى بتَرْبَنَة (قربان الإرضاء)—لا للآلهة، ولا للآباء الأسلاف، ولا سيّما للبشر.»

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• kaścit: anyone
• kaścit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaścid (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• yajanam: sacrifice, worship (act of yajña)
• yajanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• cakre: did / performed
• cakre: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद-रूपम् (classical usage)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• dānam: gift, charity
• dānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• tarpaṇam: offering of satisfaction (libation/oblations)
• tarpaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tarpaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• devatānām: of the deities
• devatānām: Sambandha (Recipient-domain/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (Recipient-domain/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• manuṣyāṇām: of human beings
• manuṣyāṇām: Sambandha (Recipient-domain/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• viśeṣataḥ: especially
• viśeṣataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣatas (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (continuation of the naraka/Yama-context complaint)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied higher authority (Brahmā; explicit next verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A barren village/kingdom scene: extinguished sacrificial fires, empty altars, neglected ancestor rites; devas and pitṛs appear faint and unsatisfied; humans look impoverished in spirit—signaling dharma’s ebb.

Characters & Entities

• Devatā
• Pitṛ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Neglect of yajña, dāna, and tarpaṇa signals dharma’s decline; Purāṇas stress these as stabilizers of cosmic and social order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly tied to Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, where tīrtha-prabhāva overrides even such ritual neglect.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Yajana (worship), dāna (charity), and tarpaṇa (offerings to devas and pitṛs) are referenced as neglected duties.