Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

अरक्षितं तिष्ठति दैवरक्षितं सुरक्षितं दैवहतं विनश्यति । जीवत्यनाथोऽपि वने विसर्जितः कृतप्रयत्नोऽपि गृहे न जीवति

Transliteration

arakṣitaṃ tiṣṭhati daivarakṣitaṃ surakṣitaṃ daivahataṃ vinaśyati | jīvatyanātho'pi vane visarjitaḥ kṛtaprayatno'pi gṛhe na jīvati

Translation

Lo que no está guardado puede aun perdurar si el destino lo protege; lo bien guardado perece si el destino lo hiere. Aun un huérfano abandonado en el bosque puede vivir, mientras que quien se esfuerza con empeño puede no vivir ni siquiera en su propia casa.

Word by Word

• arakṣitam: the unprotected (one)
• arakṣitam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (नञ्) + rakṣita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √rakṣ धातु)
• Form: नञ्-पूर्वक भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘unprotected’ (used substantively)

• tiṣṭhati: remains
• tiṣṭhati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम् — ‘stands/remains’

• daiva-rakṣitam: protected by fate/divine will
• daiva-rakṣitam: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daiva (प्रातिपदिक) + rakṣita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √rakṣ धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (दैवेन रक्षितम् = protected by fate/divine); भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — predicate complement

• su-rakṣitam: the well-protected (one)
• su-rakṣitam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + rakṣita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √rakṣ धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) with su-; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘well-protected’ (used substantively)

• daiva-hatam: struck by fate
• daiva-hatam: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daiva (प्रातिपदिक) + hata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √han धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (दैवेन हतम् = struck by fate); भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• vinaśyati: perishes
• vinaśyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: naś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘perishes’

• jīvati: lives
• jīvati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jīv (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘lives’

• anāthaḥ: a helpless person/orphan
• anāthaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — nominative singular

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Concession/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-निपात (concessive particle: ‘even/also’)

• vane: in the forest
• vane: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — locative singular

• visarjitaḥ: abandoned
• visarjitaḥ: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: visarjita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √sṛj धातु with vi-)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — agrees with anāthaḥ

• kṛta-prayatnaḥ: one who has made effort
• kṛta-prayatnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √kṛ धातु) + prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कृतः प्रयत्नः यस्य = having made effort; here as determinative ‘one with effort made’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Concession/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-निपात (concessive particle: ‘even’)

• gṛhe: in the house
• gṛhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — locative singular

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• jīvati: lives
• jīvati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jīv (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘lives’

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa narrating within a Māhātmya discourse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two contrasting vignettes: (1) an unguarded hut spared under a protective aura; (2) a fortified house struck by calamity; alongside, an abandoned child in a forest surviving under divine protection, contrasted with a striving householder failing—rendered as moral paradox, not despair.

Characters & Entities

• Daiva
• Karma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human precautions and effort do not fully control outcomes; destiny shaped by karma can preserve or destroy beyond visible safeguards.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This maxim occurs inside the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya (Nāgarakhaṇḍa, Tīrthamāhātmya), supporting the narrative’s moral frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a reflective teaching on daiva (destiny) and prayatna (effort).