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

اور یہاں شلوک ہیں: دھرم سے نہ ٹوٹنے والی خوشی پیدا ہوتی ہے، اور اَدھرم سے دکھ جنم لیتا ہے۔ اس لیے سکھ کے لیے دھرم اختیار کرے اور پاپ سے پرہیز کرے۔

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.