Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

भवंति चात्र श्लोकाः । धर्मादनवमं सौख्यमधर्माद्दुःखसम्भवः । तस्माद्धर्मं सुखार्थाय कुर्यात्पापं विवर्जयेत्

Transliteration

bhavaṃti cātra ślokāḥ | dharmādanavamaṃ saukhyamadharmādduḥkhasambhavaḥ | tasmāddharmaṃ sukhārthāya kuryātpāpaṃ vivarjayet

Translation

ഇവിടെ ശ്ലോകങ്ങൾ—ധർമ്മത്തിൽ നിന്ന് അക്ഷയസുഖം, അധർമ്മത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ദുഃഖജനനം. അതിനാൽ സുഖാർത്ഥം ധർമ്മം ആചരിക്കണം, പാപം വർജിക്കണം.

Word by Word

• bhavanti: there are
• bhavanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘are/occur’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction) — ‘and’

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) — ‘here/in this context’

• ślokāḥ: verses
• ślokāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śloka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — subject

• dharmāt: from dharma
• dharmāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — ablative ‘from dharma’

• anavamam: unsurpassed
• anavamam: Karta (Qualifier of subject/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anavama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — adjective qualifying saukhyam; ‘unsurpassed’

• saukhyam: happiness
• saukhyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saukhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — subject (elliptic ‘(bhavati)’)

• adharmāt: from adharma
• adharmāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — ablative ‘from adharma’

• duḥkha-sambhavaḥ: arising of suffering
• duḥkha-sambhavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + sambhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘दुःखस्य सम्भवः’ (origin of sorrow)

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Sambandha (Inference marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग (ablatival adverb) — ‘therefore/from that’

• dharmam: dharma
• dharmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — object

• sukha-arthāya: for happiness
• sukha-arthāya: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन — तत्पुरुषः; प्रयोजन-चतुर्थी ‘for the sake of happiness’

• kuryāt: should practice
• kuryāt: Kriya (Injunction/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘should do/perform’

• pāpam: sin
• pāpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — object

• vivarjayet: should avoid
• vivarjayet: Kriya (Injunction/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-varj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘should avoid’

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), by section-context (Māheśvarakhaṇḍa discourse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teaching moment: a sage recites a concise maxim; behind him, a symbolic split scene—on one side a bright path of dharma leading to peace, on the other a dark path of adharma leading to suffering.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is the root of lasting well-being, while adharma inevitably generates suffering; choose dharma for true happiness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular sacred site is mentioned; the verse is a universal dharma-sūkti (moral maxim).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is general: practice dharma and renounce pāpa; no specific vrata, dāna, or snāna is named.