Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

उपार्ज्जयामि यत्किञ्चिदहमेतेन कर्मणा । तत्सर्वं तत्कृते नूनं सत्येनात्मानमालभे

Transliteration

upārjjayāmi yatkiñcidahametena karmaṇā | tatsarvaṃ tatkṛte nūnaṃ satyenātmānamālabhe

Translation

Tudo o que eu vier a ganhar com este labor, eu o dedico por inteiro—certamente—àquele propósito sagrado. Em verdade, por este voto de veracidade, ofereço o meu próprio ser em consagração.

Word by Word

• upārjayāmi: I earn/acquire
• upārjayāmi: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: arj (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; उपसर्ग-उप

• yat: whatever
• yat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative)

• kiñcit: anything (at all)
• kiñcit: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kiṃcit (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनिश्चित-परिमाण (indefinite: 'anything/something')

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• etena: by this
• etena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• karmaṇā: by (this) act/work
• karmaṇā: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying sarvam)

• sarvam: all of it
• sarvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tat-kṛte: for their sake
• tat-kṛte: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/अव्ययार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थक (for the sake of that/for them)

• nūnam: certainly
• nūnam: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/अव्ययार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nūnam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक (certainly)

• satyena: by truth; truly
• satyena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ātmānam: myself
• ātmānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ālabhe: I maintain/keep; I take up
• ālabhe: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; उपसर्ग-आ

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Māhātmya-style instruction within the Skanda Purāṇa Nāgara-khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ (sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Lohajaṃgha speaks with solemnity, hand on heart or raised in oath; sages observe, preparing to redirect his ‘vow’ toward true dharma.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It teaches that earnings and effort become spiritually potent when truthfully dedicated to a sacred purpose—making one’s livelihood itself an offering (ātmārpaṇa) grounded in satya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is framed within a Tīrthamāhātmya chapter of the Nāgara-khaṇḍa, but the shloka itself does not name a particular tīrtha; it emphasizes the inner vow of truthful dedication that supports tīrtha-related merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit snāna/japa procedure is stated; the practical prescription is ethical-ritual in nature—dedicating whatever one earns to the intended sacred cause (a dana-like consecration) and affirming it through truthfulness (satya).