Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

न नश्यति पुराकर्म कृतं सर्वेंद्रियैरिह । अकृतं जायते नैव तस्मान्नास्ति भयं मम

Transliteration

na naśyati purākarma kṛtaṃ sarveṃdriyairiha | akṛtaṃ jāyate naiva tasmānnāsti bhayaṃ mama

Translation

പൂർവകർമ്മം നശിക്കുകയില്ല; ഇവിടെ എല്ലാ ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങളാലും ചെയ്ത കർമ്മങ്ങൾ ഒരിക്കലും ലയിക്കില്ല. ചെയ്യാത്തത് ജനിക്കുകയുമില്ല; അതിനാൽ എനിക്ക് ഭയം ഇല്ല.

Word by Word

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

• naśyati: perishes
• naśyati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: naś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• purā-karmā: past action (previous karma)
• purā-karmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purā (अव्यय) + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (काल-विशेषणपूर्वक: “former/previous”), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• kṛtam: done
• kṛtam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्म-विशेषण (done)

• sarva-indriyaiḥ: with all the senses
• sarva-indriyaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सर्वाणि इन्द्रियाणि), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; साधन/करण

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: “here/in this world”)

• akṛtam: what is not done
• akṛtam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a+kṛta (कृदन्त; कṛ-धातु)
• Form: नञ्-पूर्वक क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (negated PPP: “not done”), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• jāyate: arises/comes into being
• jāyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

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

• eva: at all/indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphasis)

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थ (therefore)

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

• asti: is
• asti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• bhayam: fear
• bhayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• mama: of me; my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (genitive: “of me/my”)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A composed figure speaks with calm fearlessness, perhaps before a shrine or on a ghat, asserting that past deeds do not vanish and the unperformed does not occur; listeners appear reassured.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reality is morally ordered: what you have done remains accountable, and what you have not done cannot be blamed on you—this clarity dispels fear.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in the verse; it provides a universal karmic principle within the pilgrimage chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a doctrinal statement supporting dharma and responsibility.