Shloka 9

उपलेपनादिकथनम्

Vastraputa-jala, Ahimsa, and Conduct in Shiva Worship

Devanagari script

रक्षन्ति जन्तवः सर्वे हिंसकं बाधयन्ति च त्रैलोक्यमखिलं दत्त्वा यत्फलं वेदपारगे

Transliteration

rakṣanti jantavaḥ sarve hiṃsakaṃ bādhayanti ca trailokyamakhilaṃ dattvā yatphalaṃ vedapārage

Translation

Alle Lebewesen schützen den Gewaltlosen und stellen sich dem Gewalttätigen entgegen. O Kenner der Veden: Das Verdienst, das aus dieser Unverletztheit erwächst, ist dem Lohn gleich, die gesamten drei Welten zu verschenken.

Word by Word

• rakṣanti: protect

• jantavaḥ: living beings/creatures

• sarve: all

• hiṁsakam: the violent person (one given to injury)

• bādhayanti: hinder/afflict/oppose

• ca: and

• trailokyam: the three worlds

• akhilam: entirely/without remainder

• dattvā: having given (as charity)

• yat: which

• phalam: fruit/merit/result

• vedapārage: O one who has crossed/masters the Veda (Veda-knower)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It teaches that true Śiva-pūjā is grounded in ahiṁsā: when the pashu (embodied being) abandons harm, the world itself becomes protective, and that inner dharma yields merit greater than vast external charity.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Śiva-tattva is reflected as the Pati who upholds ṛta and dharma: aligning one’s conduct with compassion reduces pasha (binding impurity), making the devotee fit for Śiva’s grace rather than worldly resistance.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Ahiṁsā as a core niyama for Pāśupata-oriented discipline—restraint of injury in thought, word, and deed—presented as a higher offering than material dāna.