Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

सर्वेषां प्राणिनां लोके कृतं कर्म शुभाशुभम् । उपतिष्ठति नान्यत्र सत्यमेतत्सुरोत्तमाः

Transliteration

sarveṣāṃ prāṇināṃ loke kṛtaṃ karma śubhāśubham | upatiṣṭhati nānyatra satyametatsurottamāḥ

Translation

สำหรับสรรพสัตว์ทั้งปวงในโลก กรรมที่ตนได้กระทำ—ดีหรือชั่ว—ย่อมปรากฏยืนอยู่ต่อหน้าอย่างไม่คลาดเคลื่อน มิได้ไปอยู่ที่อื่นเลย นี่คือสัจจะ โอ้เหล่าเทพผู้ประเสริฐยิ่ง

Word by Word

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• सर्वेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचनम्; सर्व-शब्दः (adjectival pronoun)

• प्राणिनाम्: of living beings
• प्राणिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचनम्

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचनम्

• कृतम्: done
• कृतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) + कृत (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृ-धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्तं भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तम्; नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; कर्म-विशेषणम्

• कर्म: deed, action
• कर्म: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्

• शुभाशुभम्: good and bad
• शुभाशुभम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक) + अशुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समासः (शुभ + अशुभ); नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; कर्म-विशेषणम्

• उपतिष्ठति: attends/comes to (one)
• उपतिष्ठति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्ययम् (negative particle)

• अन्यत्र: elsewhere
• अन्यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of place)

• सत्यम्: truth
• सत्यम्: Pratijna/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्; विधेय-नाम (predicate noun)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• सुरोत्तमाः: O best of gods
• सुरोत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सुराणाम् उत्तमाः); पुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), बहुवचनम्

Speaker

Māṇḍavya (continuing address to the gods)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: surottamāḥ (addressed audience: foremost of gods)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn, court-like setting where a divine authority proclaims the unerring law of karma; figures listen with awe as the moral order is stated like a cosmic decree.

Characters & Entities

• Prāṇins (beings)
• Karma
• Surottamas (Devas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karma is inescapable: each being inherits the direct consequence of their own good and bad actions, affirming the moral order upheld by dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is doctrinal (karma-principle) within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative frame; no specific tīrtha is named here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse establishes the ethical foundation that motivates pilgrimage, vows, and purificatory acts elsewhere in the māhātmya.