Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 83
नवयो न च वै चित्र्यं न चित्रं विदधेहितम् । न बलं नोद्यमः पुंसां कारणं प्राक्कृतं कृतम्
navayo na ca vai citryaṃ na citraṃ vidadhehitam | na balaṃ nodyamaḥ puṃsāṃ kāraṇaṃ prākkṛtaṃ kṛtam
Nem a juventude, nem os estratagemas engenhosos, nem os artifícios maravilhosos garantem de fato o bem-estar. Nem a força nem o esforço humano são a causa suprema; antes, o ato feito outrora—o karma passado—torna-se o fator decisivo.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A montage: a strong youth with weapons, a clever strategist with scrolls, an inventor with contraptions—each fades behind a larger, subtle ledger of ‘pūrva-kṛta karma’ glowing like an unseen script that governs outcomes; the central figure bows in humility.
FAQs
Lasting outcomes are deeply conditioned by prior karma; effort matters but is not sovereign—so act dharmically and accept results.
No tīrtha is named in this verse.
None; the focus is on karmic causality and the limits of worldly means.