Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23
सुशीघ्रमभिधावन्तं निजं कर्मानुधावति । शेते सह शयानेन तिष्ठन्तमनुतिष्ठति
suśīghramabhidhāvantaṃ nijaṃ karmānudhāvati | śete saha śayānena tiṣṭhantamanutiṣṭhati
Das eigene Karma des Menschen läuft ihm mit großer Schnelligkeit dicht nach. Legt er sich nieder, so liegt es mit ihm; steht er auf, so steht es an seiner Seite.
Unspecified (deduced: Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa narrating within a Māhātmya discourse)
Scene: A traveler runs along a road to a holy place; behind him, a swift, personified ‘Karma’ figure mirrors his movement. In vignettes, when he lies down, Karma lies beside him; when he stands, Karma stands.
FAQs
Karma is inseparable from the doer; it accompanies a person in every condition and cannot be outrun.
The teaching occurs within the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa (Tīrthamāhātmya section).
No direct ritual is prescribed here; the verse is a moral-philosophical statement about karma’s constant companionship.