Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 25

व्योमवाणी-श्रवणं, गणानां शरणागमनं, सती-दाह-वृत्तान्तः — Hearing the Heavenly Voice; The Gaṇas Seek Refuge; Account of Satī’s Self-Immolation

Devanagari script

महाकाली समुत्पन्ना तज्जटापरभा गतः । महाभयंकरा तात भूतकोटिभिरावृता

Transliteration

mahākālī samutpannā tajjaṭāparabhā gataḥ | mahābhayaṃkarā tāta bhūtakoṭibhirāvṛtā

Translation

من خُصَلِه المُعقودة (جَطا) انبثقت ماهاكالي، متقلِّدةً البهاء المنبعث من تلك الخُصَل. يا حبيب، كانت مُروِّعةً غايةَ الرهبة، مُحاطةً بكُرورٍ من البهوتا، جموعِ أرواح شيفا.

Word by Word

• mahā-kālī: Mahākālī
• mahā-kālī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + kālī (प्रातिपदिक) (समास)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; कर्मधारयः (mahā kālī)

• samutpannā: arose/was produced
• samutpannā: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√utpad (उत्पद्) (धातु) + ta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta PPP (क्त), Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; agrees with mahākālī

• tat-jaṭā-para-bhā: the supreme radiance of his matted hair
• tat-jaṭā-para-bhā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + jaṭā (प्रातिपदिक) + para (प्रातिपदिक) + bhā (प्रातिपदिक) (समास)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: tasya jaṭāyāḥ parā bhā (the supreme radiance of his matted hair)

• gataḥ: went/attained
• gataḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम्) (धातु) + ta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta PPP (क्त) used in active sense, Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; (text has masc., though nearby subject is fem.; likely refers to a masculine entity like tejas/varṇaḥ implied)

• mahā-bhayaṃkarā: very terrifying
• mahā-bhayaṃkarā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhayaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक) (समास)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; agrees with mahākālī

• tāta: O dear/son!
• tāta: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular

• bhūta-koṭibhiḥ: by crores of spirits/beings
• bhūta-koṭibhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + koṭi (प्रातिपदिक) (समास)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; तत्पुरुषः (bhūtānāṃ koṭayaḥ)

• āvṛtā: surrounded/covered
• āvṛtā: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√vṛ (वृ) (धातु) + ta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta PPP (क्त), Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; agrees with mahākālī

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Mahākālī’s emergence here resonates with Ujjayinī’s Mahākāla-tattva: Śiva as Time (Mahākāla) whose śakti is Kālī; the jyotirliṅga tradition frames Mahākāleśvara as the Lord who grants protection from untimely death and governs kāla.

Significance: Darśana/abhisheka is sought for kāla-doṣa śānti, fearlessness, and Śiva’s anugraha through confronting ugra śakti; especially famed for early-morning worship.

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: destructive

Characters & Entities

• Mahakali
• Shiva
• Bhutas

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

The verse presents Mahākālī as Śiva’s manifest power (Śakti) emerging from His own being, showing that the terrifying, world-transforming force is not separate from Śiva but an expression of Saguna Śiva’s sovereignty—meant to subdue adharmic forces and protect cosmic order.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

It reinforces Saguna worship: the same Śiva revered in the Liṅga becomes dynamically present through His energies and attendants (bhūtas). Devotion to the Liṅga is devotion to the Lord who can manifest protective-fierce forms when dharma is threatened.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is fear-transcendence through japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and adopting Śaiva markers like Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as remembrance of Śiva’s supremacy over death and terror, while mentally taking refuge in Śiva as Pati.