Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

येन यत्रोपभोक्तव्यं सुखं वा दुःखमेव वा । नरः स बद्धो रज्ज्वेव बलात्तत्रैव नीयते

Transliteration

yena yatropabhoktavyaṃ sukhaṃ vā duḥkhameva vā | naraḥ sa baddho rajjveva balāttatraiva nīyate

Translation

ไม่ว่าที่ใดซึ่งตามกรรมต้องเสวยสุขหรือทุกข์ บุคคลนั้นย่อมถูกผูกไว้ดุจคนถูกมัดด้วยเชือก และถูกพาไปยังที่นั้นโดยพลันและโดยแรง

Word by Word

• yena: by which
• yena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• upabhoktavyam: to be experienced/enjoyed
• upabhoktavyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: upa-√bhuj (भुज् धातु) + tavya (तव्य; विधेय/कर्तव्य कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तव्य-प्रत्ययान्त—‘उपभोक्तव्यम्’ = to be experienced

• sukham: happiness
• sukham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha/Coordination (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle)

• duḥkham: suffering
• duḥkham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha/Coordination (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक निपात

• naraḥ: a man/person
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• baddhaḥ: bound
• baddhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √bandh (बन्ध् धातु) + kta (क्त; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त—‘बद्धः’

• rajjvā: by a rope
• rajjvā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajjū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• iva: as if/like
• iva: Upamā (Simile marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक निपात (comparative particle)

• balāt: forcibly
• balāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — ‘बलात्’ = by force

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—देशवाचक

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात

• nīyate: is led/carried
• nīyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nī (नी धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa narrating within a Māhātmya discourse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A human figure is gently yet irresistibly pulled by a luminous rope labeled ‘karma’ toward a landscape that alternates between a pleasant garden (sukha) and a harsh wasteland (duḥkha), showing destinations of experience.

Characters & Entities

• Karma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

One must face the results of one’s actions; karma draws the person to the precise setting where its fruits must be experienced.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is embedded in the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya of Nāgarakhaṇḍa, framing ethical teaching within a tīrtha narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it emphasizes moral causality rather than a specific rite.