Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

सदैवाऽनुष्ठिताऽनेन सुपापेन कृतघ्नता । कृतघ्नः प्रोच्यते तेन कर्मणा नृपसत्तम

Transliteration

sadaivā'nuṣṭhitā'nena supāpena kṛtaghnatā | kṛtaghnaḥ procyate tena karmaṇā nṛpasattama

Translation

Undankbarkeit wurde von diesem großen Sünder ständig praktiziert. Deshalb, wegen dieser Tat, o bester der Könige, wird er ‚Kṛtaghna‘ genannt.

Word by Word

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb of time)

• एव: indeed, certainly
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• अनुष्ठिता: performed, practiced
• अनुष्ठिता: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनु-√स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.)

• अनेन: by this (person/thing)
• अनेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (instr. sg.)

• सुपापेन: by a very sinful (one/deed)
• सुपापेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (instr. sg.)

• कृतघ्नता: ingratitude
• कृतघ्नता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृतघ्न (प्रातिपदिक) + ता (तद्धित)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.); भाववाचक (abstract noun)

• कृतघ्नः: an ingrate
• कृतघ्नः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृतघ्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masc. nom. sg.)

• प्रोच्यते: is called, is said
• प्रोच्यते: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√वच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, कर्मणि प्रयोग (present passive); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd sg.)

• तेन: by that, therefore
• तेन: Hetu/Karaṇa (Cause/Instrument/हेतु/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (instr. sg.)

• कर्मणा: by the act/deed
• कर्मणा: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (neut. instr. sg.)

• नृपसत्तम: O best of kings
• नृपसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (voc. sg.)

Speaker

Māṃsāda (preta)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpasattama (the king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic court-scene: a narrator points out a notorious sinner labeled ‘Kṛtaghna’; the king listens gravely as the moral stain is named as the cause of his epithet.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛtaghna
• The King

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ingratitude is treated as a grave adharma; honoring benefactors and received good is central to purāṇic ethical life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it provides a moral characterization within the larger holy-place narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse gives an ethical criterion—cultivating gratitude and avoiding kṛtaghnatā.