Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 294

Devanagari script

कराभ्यां स पुमान्नूनं तारयेच्च कुलत्रयम् । अपि पापसमाचारं नरकेऽपि व्यव स्थितम्

Transliteration

karābhyāṃ sa pumānnūnaṃ tārayecca kulatrayam | api pāpasamācāraṃ narake'pi vyava sthitam

Translation

บุรุษนั้นด้วยมือของตนเอง ย่อมช่วยให้วงศ์ตระกูลสามชั่วคนพ้นได้แน่นอน—แม้ผู้มีความประพฤติเป็นบาป แม้อยู่ในนรกก็ตาม

Word by Word

• कराभ्याम्: with (his) two hands
• कराभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/Instrumental), द्विवचन; 'कर' = हस्त (hand)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पुमान्: a man
• पुमान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुमांस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; 'पुमान्' (irregular stem)

• नूनम्: surely, indeed
• नूनम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नूनम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक-क्रियाविशेषण (particle/adverb of certainty)

• तारयेत्: would save / should deliver
• तारयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तॄ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; धातु: तॄ (to ferry/save)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• कुलत्रयम्: three generations/families
• कुलत्रयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: 'कुलानां त्रयम्'

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि = 'even/also' (particle)

• पापसमाचारम्: sinful conduct (person)
• पापसमाचारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप + समाचार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-भावः: 'पापः समाचारः' = sinful conduct

• नरके: in hell
• नरके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरपि-प्रयोगः (particle)

• व्यवस्थितम्: situated/abiding (there)
• व्यवस्थितम्: Karma (Object-complement/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + अव + स्था (धातु) → व्यवस्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; 'स्थित' = placed/abiding; उपसर्ग: वि, अव

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced; exact referent of 'with hands' depends on the missing surrounding verses)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at a luminous ford performs a hand-offering (añjali/dāna) as ancestral figures rise from a shadowy netherworld toward light, indicating kula-traya deliverance.

Characters & Entities

• Naraka (hell)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Righteous, embodied action (done ‘with one’s own hands’) can uplift not only oneself but also one’s lineage, overriding even grave karmic conditions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the exact tīrtha is not explicit in this single line without surrounding context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An implied hands-on rite (often dāna, piṇḍa, or tīrtha-service in such contexts) credited with delivering three generations; the specific act is not named in the provided excerpt.