Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

भवेद्बहुफलं राज्यं श्मशानं भवनं यथा । बहुकण्टकसंकीर्णं क्रूरकर्मभिरावृतम्

Transliteration

bhavedbahuphalaṃ rājyaṃ śmaśānaṃ bhavanaṃ yathā | bahukaṇṭakasaṃkīrṇaṃ krūrakarmabhirāvṛtam

Translation

بادشاہی کے بہت سے نتائج ہوتے ہیں—مگر وہ ایسے گھر کی مانند ہے جو شمشان بن جائے؛ بہت سے کانٹوں سے بھرا ہوا، اور سخت اعمال کے بوجھ سے گھرا ہوا۔

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’.