Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

न जातु कामः कामानामुपभोगेन शाम्यति । हविषा कृष्णवर्त्मेव भूय एवाभिवर्द्धते

Transliteration

na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānāmupabhogena śāmyati | haviṣā kṛṣṇavartmeva bhūya evābhivarddhate

Translation

Desire for pleasures is never quenched by indulging in pleasures; like a fire fed with oblations, it only grows ever more.

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• जातु: ever
• जातु: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jātu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb) अर्थे ‘कदाचित्’

• कामः: desire
• कामः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• कामानाम्: of desires / of sense-objects
• कामानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• उपभोगेन: by enjoyment
• उपभोगेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upabhoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• शाम्यति: is pacified / subsides
• शाम्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• हविषा: with oblation (ghee)
• हविषा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: havis (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• कृष्णवर्त्म: fire (black-pathed, i.e., smoke-tracked)
• कृष्णवर्त्म: Upamana (Standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa + vartman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘कृष्णं वर्त्म यस्य/यत्’)

• इव: like
• इव: Sambandha (Comparison)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानसूचक (simile particle)

• भूयः: more
• भूयः: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhūyas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण अर्थे ‘पुनः/अधिकम्’

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• अभिवर्द्धते: grows / increases
• अभिवर्द्धते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृध् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; उपसर्गः ‘अभि’

Speaker

Unspecified (continuation of the didactic dialogue in Adhyāya 255; adjacent verses attribute speech to sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual fire blazing higher as ghee is poured, juxtaposed with a person indulging in pleasures becoming more restless; Viśvāmitra points to the growing flames as metaphor.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Indulgence fuels craving; restraint and detachment are the path to peace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Prabhāsa-kṣetra māhātmya chapter; it supports the tīrtha’s purpose of inner purification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual; the analogy uses havis (offerings) to illustrate that feeding desire strengthens it.