Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 51

हिरण्यनेत्रस्य तपः — Hiraṇyanetra’s Austerity and the Boon

Devanagari script

क्वेदं शरीरं तव भस्मदिग्धं कपालमालाभरणं विरूपम् । तूणीरसत्कार्मुकबाणखड्गभुशुंडिशूलाशनितोमराणि

Transliteration

kvedaṃ śarīraṃ tava bhasmadigdhaṃ kapālamālābharaṇaṃ virūpam | tūṇīrasatkārmukabāṇakhaḍgabhuśuṃḍiśūlāśanitomarāṇi

Translation

তোমাৰ এই দেহ কেনেকুৱা—ভস্মলিপ্ত, বিকৃত, আৰু কপালমালাৰে ভূষিত? আৰু এই তূণীৰ, উৎকৃষ্ট ধনু, বাণ, খড়্গ, গদা, ত্ৰিশূল, বজ্ৰ আৰু তোমৰ—এইবোৰ কি?

Word by Word

• kva: where?
• kva: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (क्व)
• Form: Interrogative adverb (प्रश्नवाचक अव्यय)

• idam: this
• idam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; demonstrative pronoun

• śarīram: body
• śarīram: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (6th), Singular

• bhasma-digdham: smeared with ash
• bhasma-digdham: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhasman (प्रातिपदिक) + digdha (प्रातिपदिक; √dih, क्त)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; तत्पुरुषः ‘bhasmanā digdham’ = ‘smeared with ash’

• kapāla-mālā-abharaṇam: skull-garland ornament
• kapāla-mālā-abharaṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/उपपद)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapāla (प्रातिपदिक) + mālā (प्रातिपदिक) + ābharaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; multi-member determinative: ‘ornament (ābharaṇa) consisting of a garland (mālā) of skulls (kapāla)’

• virūpam: ugly/deformed
• virūpam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: virūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; qualifies ‘śarīram/ābharaṇam’

• tūṇīra-sat-kārmuka-bāṇa-khaḍga-bhuśuṃḍi-śūla-aśani-tomarāṇi: quivers, fine bows, arrows, swords, bhuśuṃḍis, tridents, thunderbolts, spears
• tūṇīra-sat-kārmuka-bāṇa-khaḍga-bhuśuṃḍi-śūla-aśani-tomarāṇi: Karma (कर्म)/Viṣaya (विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tūṇīra (प्रातिपदिक) + sat (प्रातिपदिक) + kārmuka (प्रातिपदिक) + bāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + khaḍga (प्रातिपदिक) + bhuśuṃḍi (प्रातिपदिक) + śūla (प्रातिपदिक) + aśani (प्रातिपदिक) + tomara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural; enumerative copulative compound listing weapons; ‘tūṇīra’ quiver, ‘sat-kārmuka’ good bow, etc.

Speaker

An opponent in the Yuddhakhaṇḍa (a hostile warrior addressing Lord Shiva/Rudra’s form, as narrated by Sūta Gosvāmī)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Bhairava

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: destructive

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse contrasts worldly standards of beauty and power with Rudra’s transcendent marks—bhasma and kapālamālā—signifying dispassion, impermanence, and mastery over death. In Shaiva Siddhanta, such signs point to Shiva as Pati, beyond fear and attachment, who uses even fierce forms to uphold dharma.

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

Though Shiva is ultimately Nirguṇa, devotees approach Him as Saguṇa through recognizable emblems—bhasma, skull-garland, and divine weapons—leading the mind from form to the formless reality. The same Lord is adored in the Liṅga as the stable, auspicious presence behind these awe-inspiring manifestations.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Bhasma is implied: wearing Tripuṇḍra with reverence and remembering impermanence supports inner vairāgya. Meditatively, contemplate Shiva as the indwelling Lord (Pati) who burns impurities like bhasma, while repeating the Panchākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—to steady the mind in devotion.