Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

किंत्वत्र नास्तिकाः पापाः सन्दिह्यन्तेऽल्पचेतनाः । तेषां निःसंशयकृते वद कर्मफलं हि यत्

Transliteration

kiṃtvatra nāstikāḥ pāpāḥ sandihyante'lpacetanāḥ | teṣāṃ niḥsaṃśayakṛte vada karmaphalaṃ hi yat

Translation

എന്നാൽ ഇവിടെ അല്പബുദ്ധിയുള്ള പാപിയായ നാസ്തികർ സംശയിക്കുന്നു. അവരുടെ സംശയം നീക്കാൻ കർമ്മഫലത്തിന്റെ യഥാർത്ഥ സ്വരൂപം വ്യക്തമായി പറയുക.

Word by Word

• kim: but/however
• kim: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (अव्यय/सर्वनाम)
• Form: अव्ययप्रयोगः; particle in 'kim tu' ('but/however')

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; adversative particle

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; adverb ('here/in this matter')

• nāstikāḥ: atheists/deniers
• nāstikāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāstika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; nominative plural

• pāpāḥ: sinful
• pāpāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; nominative plural; agreeing with nāstikāḥ

• sandihyante: doubt
• sandihyante: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + dih (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः, आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्; present, 3rd pl ('doubt/are doubtful')

• alpa-cetanāḥ: of little understanding
• alpa-cetanāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: alpa (प्रातिपदिक) + cetana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समासः; पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; nominative plural; agreeing with nāstikāḥ

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी बहुवचनम्; genitive plural

• niḥ-saṃśaya-kṛte: for (their) certainty
• niḥ-saṃśaya-kṛte: Sampradāna (Recipient/Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niḥ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः; नपुंसकलिङ्गे चतुर्थी एकवचनम्; dative singular ('for the sake of removing doubt/for certainty')

• vada: tell/speak
• vada: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकारः, परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; imperative, 2nd sg

• karma-phalam: the fruit of action
• karma-phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karma (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः; नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; accusative singular

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतौ/निश्चये अव्ययम्; emphatic/causal particle

• yat: which/that
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; relative pronoun, accusative singular (referring to karmaphalam)

Speaker

Atithi

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A discourse scene where the speaker requests a clear exposition for doubters; in the background, shadowy figures symbolize skepticism, while a lamp symbolizes clarity of karmaphala teaching.

Characters & Entities

• Atithi
• nāstika

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Doubt about moral causality is addressed by teaching karmaphala plainly, so even skeptics can grasp dharma’s logic.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is referenced; the focus is ethical instruction about karma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the request is for doctrinal explanation of karmic consequences.