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Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

तैलक्षये यथा दीपो निर्वाणमधिगच्छति । कर्मक्षये तथा जंतुर्निर्वाणमधिगच्छति

tailakṣaye yathā dīpo nirvāṇamadhigacchati | karmakṣaye tathā jaṃturnirvāṇamadhigacchati

Comme une lampe s’éteint lorsque son huile est épuisée, ainsi, lorsque le karma s’épuise, l’être incarné atteint l’extinction (nirvāṇa).

taila-kṣayewhen the oil is exhausted
taila-kṣaye:
Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Roottaila (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष—‘तैलस्य क्षये’
yathājust as
yathā:
Upamā (Simile marker/उपमा)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootyathā (अव्यय)
Formउपमान/प्रकारवाचक अव्यय—‘as/just as’
dīpaḥa lamp
dīpaḥ:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootdīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन
nirvāṇamextinction (nirvāṇa)
nirvāṇam:
Karma (Object/कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootnirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन
adhigacchatiattains/reaches
adhigacchati:
Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootadhi-√gam (गम् धातु)
Formलट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्ग ‘अधि’
karma-kṣayewhen karma is exhausted
karma-kṣaye:
Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootkarma (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष—‘कर्मणः क्षये’
tathāso/likewise
tathā:
Sambandha (Correlative/अन्वय)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottathā (अव्यय)
Formप्रकार/अन्वयवाचक अव्यय—‘so/likewise’
jaṃtuḥa living being
jaṃtuḥ:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootjantu (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन
nirvāṇamextinction (nirvāṇa)
nirvāṇam:
Karma (Object/कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootnirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन
adhigacchatiattains/reaches
adhigacchati:
Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootadhi-√gam (गम् धातु)
Formलट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्ग ‘अधि’

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

Scene: A single oil lamp burns steadily in a shrine; the oil level drops to empty and the flame gently extinguishes, while a translucent jīva-form dissolves into vast light—signifying nirvāṇa through karma-kṣaya.

K
Karma
N
Nirvāṇa

FAQs

Liberation-like quiescence is linked to karmic exhaustion; when the fuel of karma ends, worldly continuity ceases.

The verse is situated in the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya narrative frame within Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

No direct rite is stated; the verse provides a doctrinal metaphor about karmic cessation.