Shloka 39

Devanagari script

नित्यानां कर्मणां विप्र तस्य हानिर् अहर्निशम् अकुर्वन् विहितं कर्म शक्तः पतति तद्दिने

Transliteration

nityānāṃ karmaṇāṃ vipra tasya hānir aharniśam akurvan vihitaṃ karma śaktaḥ patati taddine

Translation

O brāhmaṇa, for one who neglects the daily prescribed rites, loss accrues unceasingly, day and night. If, though able, he does not perform the ordained duty, he falls on that very day.

Word by Word

• नित्यानाम्: of daily (obligatory)
• नित्यानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (कर्मणाम् इति नपुंसकानुगुणम्), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• कर्मणाम्: of duties/rites
• कर्मणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• विप्र: O brāhmaṇa
• विप्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• हानिः: loss/decline
• हानिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हानि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अहर्निशम्: day and night
• अहर्निशम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहर्निशम् (अव्यय; अहः+निशा)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: day and night/continually)

• अकुर्वन्: not doing
• अकुर्वन्: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (वर्तमान कृदन्त/Present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नञर्थे (not doing)

• विहितम्: prescribed
• विहितम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + धा (धातु) → विहित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (कर्म)

• कर्म: duty/rite
• कर्म: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• शक्तः: being able
• शक्तः: Karta (Agent qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्त (प्रातिपदिक; √शक्-समर्थ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (अकुर्वन्-कर्तृविशेषण)

• पतति: falls (incurs downfall)
• पतति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तद्दिने: on that very day
• तद्दिने: Adhikarana (Location/Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (तस्मिन् दिने)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya; addressing the listener as 'vipra')

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Consequences of neglecting nitya-karma (daily obligatory rites) despite capability

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: admonitory

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Neglect of daily prescribed duties causes continual spiritual loss, and willful non-performance leads to immediate downfall.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Keep a sustainable daily discipline (sandhyā, japa, worship, ethical duties) and remove avoidable excuses; consistency matters more than sporadic intensity.

Vishishtadvaita: Nitya-karmas function as Bhagavad-ārādhana and maintenance of the divinely ordered world; omission is a failure of śeṣatva (servanthood).

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Dharma (as ordained duty)

FAQs

What is the significance of nitya-karma (daily obligatory duties) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse states that daily enjoined duties protect one from continual spiritual loss; neglect—despite capacity—causes immediate decline, showing nitya-karma as a stabilizer of dharma and inner purity.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the consequence of neglecting prescribed action?

Parāśara frames it as an ongoing erosion (“day and night”) of merit and steadiness, culminating in a same-day “fall” when a capable person refuses the ordained duty.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Though Vishnu is not named in the verse, the teaching aligns with Vaishnava Purāṇic dharma: sustaining prescribed duty upholds the divinely ordered cosmos governed by the Supreme Reality, Vishnu, and prepares the practitioner for higher devotion.