Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

यत्किंचित्सुकृतं कर्म जन्मावधि सुसंचितम् । चातुर्मास्ये गते पात्रे विमुखे यन्न दीयते

Transliteration

yatkiṃcitsukṛtaṃ karma janmāvadhi susaṃcitam | cāturmāsye gate pātre vimukhe yanna dīyate

Translation

Quelque mérite que l’on ait patiemment amassé depuis la naissance tout au long de la vie—si, durant le Cāturmāsya, lorsqu’un récipiendaire digne se présente, on ne donne pas et on le renvoie—

Word by Word

• यत्: whatever
• यत्: Sambandha (Correlation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative)

• किंचित्: some, any
• किंचित्: Sambandha (Indefinite/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक (indefinite)

• सुकृतम्: well-done, meritorious
• सुकृतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √कृ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; विशेषण

• कर्म: deed, act
• कर्म: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• जन्मावधि: up to (one’s) birth / from birth onward (as a limit)
• जन्मावधि: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अवधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (up to birth/from birth onward)

• सुसंचितम्: well-accumulated
• सुसंचितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + सम् + चि (धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) विशेषण

• चातुर्मास्ये: in Cāturmāsya
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• गते: when (the time) has passed / gone
• गते: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √गम्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; विशेषण (पात्रे इति)

• पात्रे: in/with the worthy recipient (vessel/person)
• पात्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• विमुखे: averse, turned away
• विमुखे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विमुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; विशेषण (पात्रे इति)

• यत्: which (that)
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-निपात (negation)

• दीयते: is given
• दीयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A weary but dignified brāhmaṇa/ascetic arrives at a doorway during monsoon; the householder turns him away; in the background, symbolic fading of a merit-lotus or dimming aura suggests loss of accumulated sukṛta.

Characters & Entities

• Cāturmāsya
• Pātra (worthy recipient)
• Dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit is protected and increased by timely giving; refusing a worthy recipient during sacred time undermines one’s accumulated punya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; the tīrtha-framework is implied through the Tīrthamāhātmya setting and Cāturmāsya discipline.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Give dāna when an eligible recipient (pātra) arrives, especially during Cāturmāsya; do not send the recipient away empty-handed.