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

جہاں کہیں کرم کے مطابق سکھ یا دکھ بھوگنا مقدر ہو، وہ انسان رسی سے بندھے ہوئے کی طرح مقید ہو کر زبردستی اسی جگہ لے جایا جاتا ہے۔

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.