Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

कश्यप उवाच । सर्वभक्षः सदा सोऽस्तु न्यासलोभं करोतु वा । कूटसाक्षित्वमभ्ये तु बिसस्तैन्यं करोति यः

Transliteration

kaśyapa uvāca | sarvabhakṣaḥ sadā so'stu nyāsalobhaṃ karotu vā | kūṭasākṣitvamabhye tu bisastainyaṃ karoti yaḥ

Translation

కశ్యపుడు అన్నాడు—ఎవడు మృణాళచోర్యం చేస్తాడో, వాడు నిత్యం సర్వభక్షుడై (అపవిత్రమూ భక్షించే వాడై) ఉండుగాక; లేదా అతనికి న్యాసలోభం (నమ్మకంగా ఉంచిన ధనాన్ని కాజేయాలనే లోభం) కలుగుగాక; అలాగే కూటసాక్ష్య దోషమూ అతనికి కలుగుగాక।

Word by Word

• kaśyapaḥ: Kaśyapa
• kaśyapaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaśyapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘said’

• sarvabhakṣaḥ: an eater of everything
• sarvabhakṣaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सर्वं भक्षयति/सर्वभक्षः), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate noun

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘always’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘he’

• astu: let (him) be
• astu: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘let him be’

• nyāsa-lobham: greed for deposits/trusts
• nyāsa-lobham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nyāsa (प्रातिपदिक) + lobha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (न्यासे लोभः), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; object of karotu

• karotu: let him do
• karotu: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘let him do’

• vā: or
• vā: Samuccaya/Vikalpa (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (disjunctive particle): ‘or/even if’

• kūṭa-sākṣitvam: false witnesshood
• kūṭa-sākṣitvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + sākṣitva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कूटं साक्षित्वम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; object (to be ‘entered into/committed’)

• abhye: even, also
• abhye: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: abhi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (preverb/adverb): ‘towards/into; in addition’ (here: ‘even/also’)

• tu: but, indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle): contrast/emphasis ‘but/indeed’

• bisa-stainyam: theft of lotus-stalks
• bisa-stainyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bisa (प्रातिपदिक) + stainya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (बिसस्य स्तैन्यम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; object of karoti

• karoti: commits
• karoti: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘does/commits’

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject of relative clause/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; relative pronoun ‘who’

Speaker

Kaśyapa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sage Kaśyapa, authoritative and austere, pronounces a stern imprecation; the other sages listen with grave faces, the sacred lake behind them, the missing lotus-stalks implied by an empty space on the bank.

Characters & Entities

• Kaśyapa
• kūṭasākṣitva (false witness)
• nyāsa (trust/deposit)
• bisa (lotus-stalks)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Theft in a sacred context corrupts multiple dimensions of dharma—purity of food, integrity with trusts, and truthfulness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is a tīrtha within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya, but this verse does not specify the name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it states a dharmic imprecation linking a particular sin (theft) with further degradations (impure eating, breach of trust, perjury).