Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

अरक्षितं तिष्ठति दैवरक्षितं सुरक्षितं दैवहतं विनश्यति । जीवत्यनाथोऽपि वने विसर्जितः कृतप्रयत्नोऽपि गृहे न जीवति

Transliteration

arakṣitaṃ tiṣṭhati daivarakṣitaṃ surakṣitaṃ daivahataṃ vinaśyati | jīvatyanātho'pi vane visarjitaḥ kṛtaprayatno'pi gṛhe na jīvati

Translation

കാവലില്ലാത്തതും ദൈവം കാത്താൽ നിലനിൽക്കും; കാവലുള്ളതും ദൈവാഘാതം വന്നാൽ നശിക്കും। കാട്ടിൽ ഉപേക്ഷിക്കപ്പെട്ട അനാഥനും ജീവിക്കും; വീട്ടിൽ ഏറെ പരിശ്രമിച്ചവനും ജീവിക്കാതിരിക്കും।

Word by Word

• arakṣitam: the unprotected (one)
• arakṣitam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (नञ्) + rakṣita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √rakṣ धातु)
• Form: नञ्-पूर्वक भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘unprotected’ (used substantively)

• tiṣṭhati: remains
• tiṣṭhati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम् — ‘stands/remains’

• daiva-rakṣitam: protected by fate/divine will
• daiva-rakṣitam: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daiva (प्रातिपदिक) + rakṣita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √rakṣ धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (दैवेन रक्षितम् = protected by fate/divine); भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — predicate complement

• su-rakṣitam: the well-protected (one)
• su-rakṣitam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + rakṣita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √rakṣ धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) with su-; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘well-protected’ (used substantively)

• daiva-hatam: struck by fate
• daiva-hatam: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daiva (प्रातिपदिक) + hata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √han धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (दैवेन हतम् = struck by fate); भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• vinaśyati: perishes
• vinaśyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: naś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘perishes’

• jīvati: lives
• jīvati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jīv (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘lives’

• anāthaḥ: a helpless person/orphan
• anāthaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — nominative singular

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Concession/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-निपात (concessive particle: ‘even/also’)

• vane: in the forest
• vane: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — locative singular

• visarjitaḥ: abandoned
• visarjitaḥ: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: visarjita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √sṛj धातु with vi-)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — agrees with anāthaḥ

• kṛta-prayatnaḥ: one who has made effort
• kṛta-prayatnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √kṛ धातु) + prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कृतः प्रयत्नः यस्य = having made effort; here as determinative ‘one with effort made’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Concession/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-निपात (concessive particle: ‘even’)

• gṛhe: in the house
• gṛhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — locative singular

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

• jīvati: lives
• jīvati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jīv (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘lives’

Speaker

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

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two contrasting vignettes: (1) an unguarded hut spared under a protective aura; (2) a fortified house struck by calamity; alongside, an abandoned child in a forest surviving under divine protection, contrasted with a striving householder failing—rendered as moral paradox, not despair.

Characters & Entities

• Daiva
• Karma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human precautions and effort do not fully control outcomes; destiny shaped by karma can preserve or destroy beyond visible safeguards.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This maxim occurs inside the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya (Nāgarakhaṇḍa, Tīrthamāhātmya), supporting the narrative’s moral frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a reflective teaching on daiva (destiny) and prayatna (effort).