Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

गुप्तोऽपि नापराधः स्यात्कस्यचित्प्रकटः कुतः । प्रमादाद्यदि भूलोके कश्चित्पापं समाचरेत्

Transliteration

gupto'pi nāparādhaḥ syātkasyacitprakaṭaḥ kutaḥ | pramādādyadi bhūloke kaścitpāpaṃ samācaret

Translation

Même cachée, une faute ne cesse pas d’être une faute — comment pourrait-elle ne pas se révéler? Si, par négligence, quelqu’un en ce monde commet un péché…

Word by Word

• guptaḥ: hidden
• guptaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gupta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √gup)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘hidden’

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — ‘even/also’

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध-निपात) — negation

• aparādhaḥ: offense, wrongdoing
• aparādhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aparādha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• syāt: would be
• syāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘would be/may be’

• kasyacit: of someone
• kasyacit: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kasya-cit (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन — अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (‘of someone’)

• prakaṭaḥ: manifest, evident
• prakaṭaḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prakaṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — विशेषण (अपराधः)

• kutaḥ: how (could it be)?
• kutaḥ: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रश्नार्थ-क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘whence/how?’

• pramādāt: from negligence
• pramādāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन — ‘from negligence’

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (शर्त-निपात) — ‘if’

• bhūloke: in the earthly world
• bhūloke: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū-loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन — तत्पुरुषः (‘भूः लोकः’ = world/earth)

• kaścit: someone
• kaścit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaścid (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (‘someone’)

• pāpam: sin, evil deed
• pāpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• samācaret: should commit/practice
• samācaret: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-car (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sūta (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative scene: a pilgrim or king stands before a shrine as shadowy ‘hidden’ acts are revealed by a symbolic light; the verse’s nīti is visualized as truth illuminating secrecy.

Characters & Entities

• pāpa (sin)
• aparādha (offense)
• pramāda (negligence)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karma is inescapable: concealment cannot cancel wrongdoing; dharma requires vigilance against negligence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is named in this verse; it provides a universal dharma teaching within the pilgrimage-literature setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an ethical warning rather than a ritual instruction.