Shloka 8

सतीदेव्याः योगमार्गेण देहत्यागः — Satī’s Yogic Abandonment of the Body

Devanagari script

हतकल्मषतद्देहः प्रापतच्च तदग्निना । भस्मसादभवत्सद्यो मुनिश्रेष्ठ तदिच्छया

Transliteration

hatakalmaṣataddehaḥ prāpatacca tadagninā | bhasmasādabhavatsadyo muniśreṣṭha tadicchayā

Translation

Jener Leib, dessen Unreinheiten vernichtet waren, fiel in jenes Feuer; und sogleich wurde er zu Asche — o Bester der Weisen — allein durch ihren Willen.

Word by Word

• hata-kalmaṣa-tat-dehaḥ: whose body’s sin was destroyed / that body freed from impurity
• hata-kalmaṣa-tat-dehaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hata (√han + क्त) + kalmaṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa chain: ‘hataṃ kalmaṣaṃ yasya’ (karmadhāraya-like internal) + ‘tasya dehaḥ’; Masculine, Nominative, Singular; qualifying (saḥ) dehaḥ / subject of following verbs

• prāpatat: fell/was cast
• prāpatat: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√pat (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd person, Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction particle (समुच्चय-निपात)

• tat-agninā: by that fire
• tat-agninā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘tasya agniḥ’), Masculine, Instrumental (तृतीया), Singular

• bhasma-sāt: to ashes
• bhasma-sāt: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhasma (प्रातिपदिक) + sāt (अव्यय/गति)
• Form: Avyayībhāva (अव्ययीभाव) adverbial: ‘bhasma-bhāvaṃ’ (to ashes)

• abhavat: became
• abhavat: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd person, Singular

• sadyaḥ: immediately
• sadyaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (कालवाचक-अव्यय)

• muni-śreṣṭha: O best of sages
• muni-śreṣṭha: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘munīnām śreṣṭhaḥ’), Masculine, Vocative (सम्बोधन), Singular

• tat-icchayā: by his will
• tat-icchayā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + icchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘tasya icchā’), Feminine, Instrumental (तृतीया), Singular

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Satī

Role: destructive

Characters & Entities

• Sati

FAQs

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

It teaches that when impurity (kalmaṣa) is destroyed, the body is seen as transient; liberation-oriented purity is affirmed, and the burning into bhasma symbolizes the soul’s turning away from bodily identity toward Pati (Shiva) in a Shaiva Siddhanta sense.

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

The reduction to bhasma echoes Shaiva worship where sacred ash signifies impermanence and surrender; devotion to Saguna Shiva (as the compassionate Lord) is strengthened by remembering that the body ends, while Shiva alone remains the refuge.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It supports the contemplative use of bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) as a reminder of impermanence and purity, paired with steady japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) to burn inner impurities rather than clinging to bodily identity.