Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 100

Devanagari script

अकार्यं वै त्वया मूढ परद्रव्यापहारणम् । तेन पापेन महता निरयं प्रतिगच्छसि

Transliteration

akāryaṃ vai tvayā mūḍha paradravyāpahāraṇam | tena pāpena mahatā nirayaṃ pratigacchasi

Translation

Insensé ! Tu as commis ce qui ne devait pas être fait : dérober le bien d’autrui. Par ce grand péché, tu iras en enfer.

Word by Word

• अकार्यं: a wrongful act
• अकार्यं: Karma/Phrase predicate (object/predicate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अकार्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Nipata (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Karana (Agent in passive; करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• मूढ: O fool/deluded one
• मूढ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूढ (मुह् धातु + क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle used as noun/adjective), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• पर-द्रव्य-अपहारणम्: stealing another’s property
• पर-द्रव्य-अपहारणम्: Apposition (अकार्यस्य विशेषण/व्याख्या)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + द्रव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अपहारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (Tatpurusha: ‘removal/stealing of another’s property’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Singular); ‘अकार्यं’ इत्यस्य व्याख्या/अपपद-भावः

• तेन: by that/thereby
• तेन: Karana/Hetu (Cause/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• पापेन: by/through sin
• पापेन: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• महतā: great
• महतā: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण (adjective), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular); ‘पापेन’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• निरयम्: hell
• निरयम्: Karma (Goal as object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निरय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• प्रतिगच्छसि: you go/you will go
• प्रतिगच्छसि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

Speaker

Yama

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yama delivers a sharp rebuke—calling the offender deluded—and pronounces the consequence of hell for the great sin of stealing another’s property; the atmosphere darkens, evoking naraka imagery at the margins.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Niraya (hell)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Taking what is not rightfully yours is a major adharma that leads to severe karmic suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra is the textual setting, but the verse itself is a universal dharma warning rather than a tīrtha-phala statement.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the verse is a direct ethical prohibition against theft.