Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

यत्किंचित्सुकृतं कर्म जन्मावधि सुसंचितम् । चातुर्मास्ये गते पात्रे विमुखे यन्न दीयते

Transliteration

yatkiṃcitsukṛtaṃ karma janmāvadhi susaṃcitam | cāturmāsye gate pātre vimukhe yanna dīyate

Translation

Welche verdienstvollen Taten man auch seit der Geburt bis durchs Leben sorgfältig angesammelt hat — wenn man während des Cāturmāsya, sobald ein würdiger Empfänger kommt, nicht gibt und ihn abweist, —

Word by Word

• यत्: whatever
• यत्: Sambandha (Correlation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative)

• किंचित्: some, any
• किंचित्: Sambandha (Indefinite/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक (indefinite)

• सुकृतम्: well-done, meritorious
• सुकृतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √कृ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; विशेषण

• कर्म: deed, act
• कर्म: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• जन्मावधि: up to (one’s) birth / from birth onward (as a limit)
• जन्मावधि: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अवधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (up to birth/from birth onward)

• सुसंचितम्: well-accumulated
• सुसंचितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + सम् + चि (धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) विशेषण

• चातुर्मास्ये: in Cāturmāsya
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• गते: when (the time) has passed / gone
• गते: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √गम्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; विशेषण (पात्रे इति)

• पात्रे: in/with the worthy recipient (vessel/person)
• पात्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• विमुखे: averse, turned away
• विमुखे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विमुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; विशेषण (पात्रे इति)

• यत्: which (that)
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-निपात (negation)

• दीयते: is given
• दीयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A weary but dignified brāhmaṇa/ascetic arrives at a doorway during monsoon; the householder turns him away; in the background, symbolic fading of a merit-lotus or dimming aura suggests loss of accumulated sukṛta.

Characters & Entities

• Cāturmāsya
• Pātra (worthy recipient)
• Dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit is protected and increased by timely giving; refusing a worthy recipient during sacred time undermines one’s accumulated punya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; the tīrtha-framework is implied through the Tīrthamāhātmya setting and Cāturmāsya discipline.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Give dāna when an eligible recipient (pātra) arrives, especially during Cāturmāsya; do not send the recipient away empty-handed.