Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 14

सतीकृतप्रार्थना तथा परतत्त्वजिज्ञासा — Satī’s Prayer and Inquiry into the Supreme Principle

Devanagari script

तद्दुर्लभं त्रिलोकेस्मिंस्तज्ज्ञाता विरलः प्रिये । यादृशो यस्सदासोहं ब्रह्मसाक्षात्परात्परः

Transliteration

taddurlabhaṃ trilokesmiṃstajjñātā viralaḥ priye | yādṛśo yassadāsohaṃ brahmasākṣātparātparaḥ

Translation

„Diese Wirklichkeit ist in den drei Welten überaus schwer zu erlangen, Geliebte, und wer sie wahrhaft erkennt, ist äußerst selten. So wie Ich ewig bin—Brahman unmittelbar verwirklicht—bin Ich der Höchste, jenseits des Jenseits.“

Word by Word

• tat: that
• tat: Karta/Viśeṣya (कर्ता/विशेष्य-सूचक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana; demonstrative pronoun (सर्वनाम)

• durlabham: hard to obtain
• durlabham: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur + labha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; adjective (विशेषण) qualifying 'tat'

• tri-loke: in the three worlds
• tri-loke: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Saptamī (7th/सप्तमी), Ekavacana; locative of place

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga/Napumsaka, Saptamī (7th), Ekavacana; pronoun used with locative sense

• tat: that (state/thing)
• tat: Karma/Viśeṣya (कर्म/विशेष्य-सूचक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; demonstrative pronoun

• jñātā: knower
• jñātā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñā (धाातु) + tṛ (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; kṛdanta agent noun (कर्तृवाचक)

• viralaḥ: rare
• viralaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: virala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; adjective qualifying 'jñātā'

• priye: O beloved
• priye: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन), Ekavacana; address

• yādṛśaḥ: such as
• yādṛśaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yādṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; correlating adjective

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; relative pronoun

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb of time (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; pronoun

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; 1st person pronoun

• brahma-sākṣāt: directly as Brahman
• brahma-sākṣāt: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + sākṣāt (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyayībhāva; adverbial expression meaning 'directly/manifestly as Brahman'

• parāt-paraḥ: supreme beyond the supreme
• parāt-paraḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; comparative/idiomatic: 'beyond the beyond' (परात् = ablative used adverbially)

Speaker

Lord Shiva

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Satī

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Sati

FAQs

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

Shiva declares that direct realization of the Supreme (Brahman) is extremely rare, and affirms Himself as that Paratpara Reality—teaching that liberation comes through knowing Shiva as the highest truth, not merely as a worldly deity.

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

Though Shiva speaks here in transcendent (Nirguna) terms, Shaiva tradition approaches this Paratpara through Saguna supports like the Shiva Linga—worship and contemplation leading the devotee from form to the formless truth Shiva embodies.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The takeaway is steady Shiva-upasana aimed at direct realization: japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namah Shivaya) with focused meditation on Shiva as the Supreme, supported by disciplined worship (puja) as a means to rare, liberating knowledge.