Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

यम उवाच । अप्रमाणं विभो कर्म संप्रयातं ममोचितम् । शुभाशुभपरिज्ञानं सर्वेषामेव देहिनाम्

Transliteration

yama uvāca | apramāṇaṃ vibho karma saṃprayātaṃ mamocitam | śubhāśubhaparijñānaṃ sarveṣāmeva dehinām

Translation

યમે કહ્યું—હે પ્રભુ! મને નિર્ધારિત કરેલું કાર્ય હવે અપરિમિત અને અસ્થિર બની ગયું છે; કારણ કે સર્વ દેહધારીઓના શુભ-અશુભ કર્મોનું વિવેચન મને કરવું પડે છે.

Word by Word

• yamaḥ: Yama
• yamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच्) (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• apramāṇam: without measure/limitless
• apramāṇam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नञ्-समास/उपसर्ग-निषेध — ‘प्रमाणरहितम्’

• vibho: O Lord
• vibho: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• saṃprayātam: has occurred/has come about
• saṃprayātam: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-pra-yā (या) (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्तः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past Passive Participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘gone forth/occurred’

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• ucitam: proper, fitting
• ucitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ucita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √uc/वच्-सम्बद्ध ‘योग्य’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् — ‘योग्यम्’

• śubha-aśubha-parijñānam: discernment of good and bad
• śubha-aśubha-parijñānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक) + aśubha (प्रातिपदिक) + parijñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः (शुभाशुभयोः) द्वन्द्वपूर्वपद + तत्पुरुषः ‘परिज्ञानम्’ — समस्तपदम् ‘शुभाशुभपरिज्ञानम्’

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक-प्रयोगे, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis)

• dehinām: of embodied beings
• dehinām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dehin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Yama

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sārasvata Mahātīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vibhu (a supreme lord addressed as ‘deva’; in context likely Brahmā/Īśvara depending on recension)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yama, solemn and burdened, speaks to a higher deity (Vibhu), holding a ledger or pāśa; behind him, countless subtle beings await judgment, emphasizing the ‘measureless’ task.

Characters & Entities

• Yama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic order depends on dharma and karmic discernment; even divine offices feel strain when extraordinary grace (like tīrtha power) alters outcomes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of the praise of a Nāgarakhaṇḍa tīrtha whose grace affects the fate of beings beyond ordinary karmic accounting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; it frames the karmic context behind the tīrtha’s exceptional merit.