Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

तैलक्षये यथा दीपो निर्वाणमधिगच्छति । कर्मक्षये तथा जंतुर्निर्वाणमधिगच्छति

Transliteration

tailakṣaye yathā dīpo nirvāṇamadhigacchati | karmakṣaye tathā jaṃturnirvāṇamadhigacchati

Translation

ดุจประทีปดับลงเมื่อสิ้นน้ำมัน ฉันใด เมื่อกรรมสิ้นไป สัตว์ผู้มีชีวิตก็เข้าถึงนิรวาณ คือความดับสงบ ฉันนั้น

Word by Word

• taila-kṣaye: when the oil is exhausted
• taila-kṣaye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taila (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष—‘तैलस्य क्षये’

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Upamā (Simile marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक अव्यय—‘as/just as’

• dīpaḥ: a lamp
• dīpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• nirvāṇam: extinction (nirvāṇa)
• nirvāṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• adhigacchati: attains/reaches
• adhigacchati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: adhi-√gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्ग ‘अधि’

• karma-kṣaye: when karma is exhausted
• karma-kṣaye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karma (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष—‘कर्मणः क्षये’

• tathā: so/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Correlative/अन्वय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/अन्वयवाचक अव्यय—‘so/likewise’

• jaṃtuḥ: a living being
• jaṃtuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• nirvāṇam: extinction (nirvāṇa)
• nirvāṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• adhigacchati: attains/reaches
• adhigacchati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: adhi-√gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्ग ‘अधि’

Speaker

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

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A single oil lamp burns steadily in a shrine; the oil level drops to empty and the flame gently extinguishes, while a translucent jīva-form dissolves into vast light—signifying nirvāṇa through karma-kṣaya.

Characters & Entities

• Karma
• Nirvāṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Liberation-like quiescence is linked to karmic exhaustion; when the fuel of karma ends, worldly continuity ceases.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is situated in the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya narrative frame within Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is stated; the verse provides a doctrinal metaphor about karmic cessation.