Shloka 31

शिवध्यानपूजनवर्णनम्

Description of Śiva Meditation and Worship

Devanagari script

अधर्मादीनि पूर्वादीन्युत्तरां तान्यनुक्रमात् । राजावर्तमणिप्रख्यान्यस्य गात्राणि भावयेत्

Transliteration

adharmādīni pūrvādīnyuttarāṃ tānyanukramāt | rājāvartamaṇiprakhyānyasya gātrāṇi bhāvayet

Translation

Beginnend mit Adharma im Osten und der Ordnung nach bis zum Norden fortschreitend, soll man jene Glieder (des Herrn/jener göttlichen Gestalt) betrachten, die wie der Edelstein rājāvarta erglänzen.

Word by Word

• adharma-ādīni: Adharma and others
• adharma-ādīni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adharma (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः — ‘अधर्मः आदिः येषाम्’ (adharmādi)

• pūrva-ādīni: beginning with the eastern (direction)
• pūrva-ādīni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः — ‘पूर्वः आदिः येषाम्’

• uttarām: the northern (one/direction)
• uttarām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (दिशम्/देवता-सम्बन्धे)

• tāni: those
• tāni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• anukramāt: in sequence
• anukramāt: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anukrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावार्थे तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण क्रियाविशेषणम्; ‘अनुक्रमात्’ = क्रमशः (in order)

• rājāvarta-maṇi-prakhyāni: resembling the rājāvarta gem
• rājāvarta-maṇi-prakhyāni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rājāvarta (प्रातिपदिक) + maṇi (प्रातिपदिक) + prakhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः — ‘राजावर्तमणिवत् प्रख्यानि’ (famous/like the rājāvarta gem)

• asya: of this (deity/figure)
• asya: Shashthi-Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• gātrāṇi: limbs
• gātrāṇi: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• bhāvayet: should contemplate/visualize
• bhāvayet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु) [causative: bhāvaya-]
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोगः (causative)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches a disciplined Shaiva dhyāna: arranging contemplative elements in ordered directions and then visualizing Shiva’s luminous form, training the mind from disorder (adharma) toward divine clarity.

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

The verse aligns with saguna-upāsanā: the devotee meditates on Shiva’s form and limbs with radiant brilliance, a method often used alongside linga-worship to stabilize devotion and concentration.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A directional visualization (dik-krama) meditation: contemplate the prescribed principles in sequence by quarters and then focus on Shiva’s shining limbs; it may be paired with japa such as the Panchakshara mantra, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya.”