Shloka 49

Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ

Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony

Devanagari script

नानाशकुनिसम्भोज्यै: फलैरव॑क्षेरलंकृतम्‌ । यथास्थानविनिक्षिप्तैर्भूषितं भस्मराशिभि:

Transliteration

nānā-śakuni-sambhojyaiḥ phalair avakṣer alaṅkṛtam | yathā-sthāna-vinikṣiptair bhūṣitaṃ bhasma-rāśibhiḥ ||

Translation

Vāsudeva said: The hermitage was adorned with many kinds of fruits fit to be eaten by various birds, and with trees laden with them. Heaps of ash, placed in their proper spots, further enhanced its austere beauty—signs of disciplined life and sacred rites rather than worldly ornament.

Word by Word

• नाना: various, many kinds of
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाना
• Form: indeclinable

• शकुनि: bird
• शकुनि: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शकुनि
• Form: masculine, locative, singular (in compound sense: 'for birds')

• सम्भोज्यैः: edible/fit to be eaten (by)
• सम्भोज्यैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-भोज्य
• Form: neuter, instrumental, plural

• फलैः: with fruits
• फलैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल
• Form: neuter, instrumental, plural

• वृक्षैः: with trees
• वृक्षैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृक्ष
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• अवक्षेर: in the hermitage/ashram (reading-dependent; locus)
• अवक्षेर: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवक्षेर
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

• अलंकृतम्: adorned, decorated
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अलंकृत
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• यथा: as, according to
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा
• Form: indeclinable

• स्थान: place, proper position
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular (in compound sense)

• विनिक्षिप्तैः: placed/laid down
• विनिक्षिप्तैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-नि-क्षिप्त
• Form: neuter, instrumental, plural

• भूषितम्: ornamented, beautified
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूषित
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• भस्म: ash
• Type: Noun
• Root: भस्मन्
• Form: neuter, genitive (in compound sense)

• राशिभिः: with heaps/piles
• राशिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राशि
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

Speaker

वासुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva (speaker)
• birds (śakuni)
• fruits (phala)
• trees (avakṣa)
• heaps of ash (bhasma-rāśi)
• hermitage/āśrama (implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True beauty in a dharmic life is not luxury but disciplined simplicity: natural abundance (fruits for creatures) and ritual austerity (ash from sacred fires) become the ‘ornaments’ of an āśrama, pointing to restraint, purity, and ordered conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāsudeva is describing the appearance of a hermitage: it is decorated by fruit-bearing trees and fruits suitable for birds, and by ash-heaps placed neatly in their proper locations—suggesting ongoing sacred fires, rites, and an ascetic, well-ordered environment.