Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

यथा छायातपौ नित्यं सुसंबद्धौ परस्परम् । तथा कर्म च कर्ता च नात्र कार्या विचारणा

Transliteration

yathā chāyātapau nityaṃ susaṃbaddhau parasparam | tathā karma ca kartā ca nātra kāryā vicāraṇā

Translation

جیسے سایہ اور دھوپ ہمیشہ ایک دوسرے سے جڑے رہتے ہیں، ویسے ہی کرم اور کرتا؛ اس میں مزید بحث کی حاجت نہیں۔

Word by Word

• yathā: as
• yathā: Sambandha (Correlation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानार्थक-अव्यय (correlative adverb: ‘as’)

• chāyā-tapau: shade and heat
• chāyā-tapau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: chāyā (प्रातिपदिक) + tapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (छाया च तपश्च); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन — nominative dual

• nityam: always
• nityam: Adhikarana (Adverbial/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययीभूत (adverbial accusative) — ‘always’

• su-saṃbaddhau: well-connected
• su-saṃbaddhau: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + saṃbaddha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √bandh धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन — adjectival; agrees with chāyā-tapau

• parasparam: mutually
• parasparam: Sambandha (Reciprocity/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paraspara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययभावे (reciprocal adverb) — ‘mutually’

• tathā: so/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Correlation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: तदनुरूपार्थक-अव्यय (correlative adverb: ‘so/likewise’)

• karma: action/karma
• karma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — neuter nominative singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• kartā: doer/agent
• kartā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kartṛ (प्रातिपदिक; √kṛ धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — masculine nominative singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: ‘here/in this matter’)

• kāryā: to be done/necessary
• kāryā: Karta (Predicate-Adjective/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kārya (प्रातिपदिक; √kṛ धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्/यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive: ‘to be done’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — agrees with vicāraṇā

• vicāraṇā: consideration/inquiry
• vicāraṇā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vicāraṇā (प्रातिपदिक; √car धातु with vi-)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — feminine nominative singular

Speaker

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

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: a figure walking under alternating bands of sunlight and shade, with each footprint turning into a visible karmic imprint; a sage points to the inseparability of the walker and the trail.

Characters & Entities

• Karma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Moral responsibility is affirmed: actions and the agent are inseparably connected, so one must own one’s deeds.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ethical teaching is situated in the Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya context of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a statement about agency and karmic linkage.