Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

फलं धर्मस्य राजानः पुष्पं धर्मस्य ब्राह्मणाः । तस्मात्पुष्पं न हिंसीत पुष्पात्संजायते फलम्

Transliteration

phalaṃ dharmasya rājānaḥ puṣpaṃ dharmasya brāhmaṇāḥ | tasmātpuṣpaṃ na hiṃsīta puṣpātsaṃjāyate phalam

Translation

Les rois sont le fruit du dharma ; les brāhmaṇas en sont la fleur. Aussi ne faut-il pas blesser la fleur, car de la fleur naît le fruit.

Word by Word

• phalam: fruit
• phalam: Karma/Predicative (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• dharmasya: of dharma
• dharmasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• rājānaḥ: kings
• rājānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• puṣpam: flower
• puṣpam: Karma/Predicative (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dharmasya: of dharma
• dharmasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• brāhmaṇāḥ: Brahmins
• brāhmaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Reason/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; “therefore”

• puṣpam: the flower
• puṣpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• na: do not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation)

• hiṃsīta: should harm
• hiṃsīta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: hiṃs (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• puṣpāt: from the flower
• puṣpāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; अपादानार्थे (source)

• saṃjāyate: is produced/arises
• saṃjāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• phalam: fruit
• phalam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Unknown (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya; likely Sūta relating the teaching)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A flowering tree labeled ‘Dharma’ with blossoms depicted as brāhmaṇas reciting; ripe fruits depicted as a king’s prosperity symbols (crown, treasury, victory banner). A hand shields blossoms from harm.

Characters & Entities

• Rājā (king)
• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Righteous rulership is a product of a flourishing spiritual-ethical culture; harming that culture destroys its outcomes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction belongs to Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, strengthening the dharmic identity of Prabhāsa as a sacred realm.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it prescribes protection and reverence toward Brāhmaṇas as a prerequisite for dharmic prosperity.