Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

यथा छायातपौ नित्यं सुसंबद्धौ परस्परम् । तथा कर्म च कर्ता च नात्र कार्या विचारणा

Transliteration

yathā chāyātapau nityaṃ susaṃbaddhau parasparam | tathā karma ca kartā ca nātra kāryā vicāraṇā

Translation

നിഴലും വെയിലും എപ്പോഴും പരസ്പരം ബന്ധപ്പെട്ടു നിൽക്കുന്നതുപോലെ, കർമ്മവും കർത്താവും ബന്ധിതം; ഇതിൽ കൂടുതൽ വിചാരം വേണ്ട।

Word by Word

• yathā: as
• yathā: Sambandha (Correlation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानार्थक-अव्यय (correlative adverb: ‘as’)

• chāyā-tapau: shade and heat
• chāyā-tapau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: chāyā (प्रातिपदिक) + tapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (छाया च तपश्च); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन — nominative dual

• nityam: always
• nityam: Adhikarana (Adverbial/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययीभूत (adverbial accusative) — ‘always’

• su-saṃbaddhau: well-connected
• su-saṃbaddhau: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + saṃbaddha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √bandh धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन — adjectival; agrees with chāyā-tapau

• parasparam: mutually
• parasparam: Sambandha (Reciprocity/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paraspara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययभावे (reciprocal adverb) — ‘mutually’

• tathā: so/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Correlation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: तदनुरूपार्थक-अव्यय (correlative adverb: ‘so/likewise’)

• karma: action/karma
• karma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — neuter nominative singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• kartā: doer/agent
• kartā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kartṛ (प्रातिपदिक; √kṛ धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — masculine nominative singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: ‘here/in this matter’)

• kāryā: to be done/necessary
• kāryā: Karta (Predicate-Adjective/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kārya (प्रातिपदिक; √kṛ धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्/यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive: ‘to be done’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — agrees with vicāraṇā

• vicāraṇā: consideration/inquiry
• vicāraṇā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vicāraṇā (प्रातिपदिक; √car धातु with vi-)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — feminine nominative singular

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa narrating within a Māhātmya discourse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: a figure walking under alternating bands of sunlight and shade, with each footprint turning into a visible karmic imprint; a sage points to the inseparability of the walker and the trail.

Characters & Entities

• Karma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Moral responsibility is affirmed: actions and the agent are inseparably connected, so one must own one’s deeds.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ethical teaching is situated in the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya context of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a statement about agency and karmic linkage.