Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

भवेद्बहुफलं राज्यं श्मशानं भवनं यथा । बहुकण्टकसंकीर्णं क्रूरकर्मभिरावृतम्

Transliteration

bhavedbahuphalaṃ rājyaṃ śmaśānaṃ bhavanaṃ yathā | bahukaṇṭakasaṃkīrṇaṃ krūrakarmabhirāvṛtam

Translation

Kingship yields many consequences—like a dwelling that is a cremation-ground: filled with many thorns, and surrounded by harsh deeds and their burdens.

Word by Word

• भवेत्: may become / would be
• भवेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/Optative sense: विधिलिङ्/optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); परस्मैपदम्

• बहु-फलम्: having many fruits / very fruitful
• बहु-फलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (nominative/accusative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषण (adjective)

• राज्यम्: kingdom
• राज्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• श्मशानम्: cremation-ground
• श्मशानम्: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (nominative/accusative), एकवचन (singular); उपमान (standard of comparison)

• भवनम्: house, dwelling
• भवनम्: Upameya (Object compared/उपमेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (nominative/accusative), एकवचन (singular)

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable); उपमा-प्रदर्शक (comparative particle)

• बहु-कण्टक-संकीर्णम्: strewn with many thorns
• बहु-कण्टक-संकीर्णम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक) + कण्टक (प्रातिपदिक) + संकीर्ण (कृदन्त; √कॄ/किर्? here from सं-√कॄ/कॄञ्? adjectival 'mixed, strewn')
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (nominative/accusative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषण (adjective)

• क्रूर-कर्मभिः: by cruel deeds
• क्रूर-कर्मभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रूर (प्रातिपदिक) + कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter) कर्मन्-शब्दः, तृतीया (instrumental), बहुवचन (plural)

• आवृतम्: covered, enveloped
• आवृतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-√वृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (nominative/accusative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषण

Speaker

Brahmā (contextual continuation of instruction)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative teaching scene: a sage-like figure evokes kingship as a house built upon a cremation-ground—smoke, ash, thorny scrub, and shadowy figures of harsh deeds encircling a throne.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Rājya (kingship)
• Śmaśāna (cremation-ground)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly power brings complex karmic outcomes; a ruler must govern with vigilance and detachment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is specified in this verse; it offers ethical counsel within the larger Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a moral warning about the nature of rājya and its karmic ‘thorns’.