Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 9

शिवस्य सैन्यप्रयाणम् तथा गणपतिनामावलिः (Śiva’s Mobilization for War and the Catalogue of Gaṇa Commanders)

Devanagari script

इत्यादयो गणेशानास्सैन्यानां पतयो वराः । तेषां च गणनां वच्मि सावधानतया शृणु

Transliteration

ityādayo gaṇeśānāssainyānāṃ patayo varāḥ | teṣāṃ ca gaṇanāṃ vacmi sāvadhānatayā śṛṇu

Translation

هكذا وبوجوهٍ أُخَر، هؤلاء هم الغانيشا الأفاضل—سادةُ الجيوش وقادتها. والآن سأذكر تعدادهم؛ فاستمعوا بإصغاءٍ وحذرٍ تامّ.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha/Avyaya (सम्बन्ध/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative/particle: ‘thus’)

• ādayaḥ: and others (beginning with these)
• ādayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘आदि’ (etc.)—‘and others’ अर्थे

• gaṇeśānāḥ: lords of the troops (gaṇas)
• gaṇeśānāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇeśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—गणानाम् ईशानाः इति (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• sainyānām: of the armies
• sainyānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sainya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• patayaḥ: leaders/lords
• patayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• varāḥ: excellent, eminent
• varāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies patayaḥ/gaṇeśānāḥ)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Avyaya (सम्बन्ध/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• gaṇanām: enumeration, counting
• gaṇanām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• vacmi: I speak/tell
• vacmi: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sāvadhānatayā: with attention/carefully
• sāvadhānatayā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāvadhānatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; भाववाचक—‘with attentiveness’

• śṛṇu: listen
• śṛṇu: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sūta Gosvāmin

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Īśāna

Characters & Entities

• Ganesha
• Shiva (implied as Lord of the gaṇas)

FAQs

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

It emphasizes śravaṇa (attentive listening) to sacred narration and presents Shiva’s ordered divine retinue—showing that the Lord’s power operates through disciplined, dharmic hosts (gaṇas) under appointed leaders.

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

By describing Shiva’s gaṇas and their chiefs, the text highlights Saguna Shiva’s manifest sovereignty—his personal governance of the cosmos—supporting devotional contemplation of Shiva as the living Lord worshipped in the Liṅga.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The immediate practice is mindful śravaṇa: listen with focused attention to Shiva-kathā; as a devotional aid, one may pair it with japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) to steady the mind while hearing.