Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

क्रियते खेचरत्वेन किंकिं धर्मं विनिश्चयैः । यतो न सिध्यते मोक्षो जाति स्मृत्यादिकं तथा

Transliteration

kriyate khecaratvena kiṃkiṃ dharmaṃ viniścayaiḥ | yato na sidhyate mokṣo jāti smṛtyādikaṃ tathā

Translation

വെറും ‘ഖേചരത്വം’ കൊണ്ടു നിശ്ചയമായി ഏതു ധർമ്മം സിദ്ധിക്കും? കാരണം അതിനാൽ മോക്ഷം സിദ്ധിക്കുകയില്ല; ജന്മസ്മൃതി മുതലായതും ഉണ്ടാകുകയില്ല.

Word by Word

• kriyate: is done
• kriyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ-धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana, Ātmanepada; karmaṇi-prayoga (passive)

• khecaratvena: by/through sky-going (state)
• khecaratvena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khecara + -tva (खेचर-प्रातिपदिक + त्व-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Napumsaka, Tṛtīyā (3rd), Ekavacana; hetu/upanaya (instrumental of means)

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: kim (किम्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; interrogative

• kim: what (all)
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: kim (किम्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; repetition for emphasis

• dharmam: duty/rite
• dharmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (धर्म-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana

• viniścayaiḥ: by determinations/decisions
• viniścayaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viniścaya (विनिश्चय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd), Bahuvacana; karaṇa (means: by determinations/decisions)

• yataḥ: because
• yataḥ: Sambandha (Cause marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yataḥ (यतः-अव्यय)
• Form: Hetu-avyaya (causal indeclinable: because/for)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (न-अव्यय)
• Form: Niṣedha-nipāta (negation)

• sidhyate: is accomplished
• sidhyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sidh (सिध्-धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana, Ātmanepada

• mokṣaḥ: liberation
• mokṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa (मोक्ष-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana

• jāti: birth/caste
• jāti: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāti (जाति-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā/Dvitīyā (1st/2nd), Ekavacana; samuccita-padārtha in list

• smṛti-ādikam: memory and the like
• smṛti-ādikam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smṛti + ādika (स्मृति-प्रातिपदिक + आदिक-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā/Dvitīyā (1st/2nd), Ekavacana; samāsa: smṛti + ādika (prādi-tatpuruṣa: 'smṛti etc.')

• tathā: likewise/also
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (तथा-अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya/Upamā-avyaya (indeclinable: likewise/also)

Speaker

Preta(s) (departed spirits) addressing the king

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic exchange: the speaker questions what ‘certain dharma’ is achieved by sky-going, declaring it cannot grant mokṣa or even refined memory of births.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mere extraordinary states or powers do not yield mokṣa; liberation depends on dharma, right conduct, and purifying merits.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it functions as doctrinal clarification within the tīrtha narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse implicitly redirects focus from ‘powers’ to dharmic means (such as śrāddha, dāna, tīrtha-sevā).