Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

एकः पापानि कुरुते फलं भुंक्ते महाजनः । भोक्तारो विप्रमुच्यंते कर्ता दोषेण लिप्यते

Transliteration

ekaḥ pāpāni kurute phalaṃ bhuṃkte mahājanaḥ | bhoktāro vipramucyaṃte kartā doṣeṇa lipyate

Translation

Uno comete los pecados, pero el gran hogar consume el fruto. Quienes solo participan quedan liberados; el autor, en cambio, se mancha con la culpa.

Word by Word

• ekaḥ: one person
• ekaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• pāpāni: sins
• pāpāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• kurute: does/commits
• kurute: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• phalam: the fruit/result
• phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• bhuṅkte: enjoys/experiences
• bhuṅkte: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• mahājanaḥ: the great man / eminent person
• mahājanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• bhoktāraḥ: enjoyers/experiencers
• bhoktāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhoktṛ (प्रातिपदिक; कृत्-प्रत्ययान्त from √bhuj)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• vipramucyante: are completely released
• vipramucyante: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + pra + muc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• kartā: the doer/agent
• kartā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kartṛ (प्रातिपदिक; कृत्-प्रत्ययान्त from √kṛ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• doṣeṇa: by/with the fault
• doṣeṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: doṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• lipyate: is tainted/smeared
• lipyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: lip (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Ṛṣis (Sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moral tableau: a thief confronted by serene sages; behind him a household receiving the fruits of wrongdoing; a subtle aura of ‘stain’ clinging to the doer while others remain comparatively unbound.

Characters & Entities

• Kartā (doer)
• Bhoktā (enjoyer/partaker)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karmic accountability primarily adheres to the agent (kartā); benefiting from an act does not equal being its moral author.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is specified; the verse teaches dharma within the broader tīrtha-māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a principle of moral causality rather than a ritual directive.