Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 55

सेवातत्त्वप्रश्नः — The Question of Whom to Serve (Sevā) for the Removal of Suffering

Devanagari script

अहो विचारतो नास्ति ह्यन्यत्तत्वार्थवादिनः । निष्कलं सकलं चित्ते सर्वं शिवमयं जगत्

Transliteration

aho vicārato nāsti hyanyattatvārthavādinaḥ | niṣkalaṃ sakalaṃ citte sarvaṃ śivamayaṃ jagat

Translation

Ach! Bei wahrer Betrachtung finden die Ausleger der Wirklichkeit nichts außer Śiva. Im Geist werden sowohl niṣkala (teil-los) als auch sakala (manifest) erkannt — diese ganze Welt ist allein von Śiva durchdrungen.

Word by Word

• अहो: ah!, indeed!
• अहो: सम्बोधन/भाव (Exclamation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहो (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मयार्थक अव्यय (interjection of wonder)

• विचारतः: upon reflection
• विचारतः: करण (Instrumental sense: by means of reflection)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विचार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb): ‘from/by reflection’

• न: not
• न: निषेध (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation particle)

• अस्ति: is/exists
• अस्ति: क्रिया (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• हि: indeed
• हि: सम्बन्ध (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle: ‘indeed/for’)

• अन्यत्: anything else
• अन्यत्: कर्म (Object of ‘is’ in existential sense)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग; विशेषण (used substantively: ‘anything else’)

• तत्त्व-अर्थ-वादिनः: of the expounder(s) of the meaning of reality
• तत्त्व-अर्थ-वादिनः: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी/Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत्त्व (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + वादिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठीविभक्ति, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग; तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘तत्त्वार्थं वदति’ इति (one who speaks the meaning of reality); here genitive: ‘of the expounder(s)’

• निष्कलम्: partless, without divisions
• निष्कलम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निष्कल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग; विशेषण

• सकलम्: with parts, complete/manifest
• सकलम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सकल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग; विशेषण

• चित्ते: in the mind
• चित्ते: अधिकरण (Locative/Place-Context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमीविभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग

• सर्वम्: all, everything
• सर्वम्: कर्म/विषय (Content/that which is conceived)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग; विशेषण (used substantively: ‘everything’)

• शिव-मयम्: made of Śiva, pervaded by Śiva
• शिव-मयम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तत्पुरुष-समास (material/constitutive sense): ‘शिवेन मयम्’ = consisting of Śiva

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: कर्म/विषय (That being described)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva-tattva to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: A universal siddhānta statement rather than a local legend: through vicāra (inquiry), all tattva is seen as Śiva-pervaded; niṣkala and sakala are both held in consciousness as modes of the one Lord.

Significance: Reframes pilgrimage: every kṣetra becomes meaningful as a doorway to recognize sarvaṃ śivamayam; the highest ‘tīrtha’ is purified vision (śiva-dṛṣṭi).

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: sarvaṃ śivamayaṃ jagat

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that careful discernment leads to the recognition that the ultimate reality behind all tattvas is Śiva, and that liberation-oriented vision (jñāna-dṛṣṭi) sees the whole universe as śivamaya—pervaded by the Lord.

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

By affirming both niṣkala (formless) and sakala (with form), it supports worship of Śiva as the transcendent absolute and as the approachable Lord in manifest forms—especially the Śiva-liṅga, which signifies the one Reality accessible to devotion and contemplation.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is japa and dhyāna that cultivate “śivamaya” awareness—such as steady repetition of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) while meditating on the liṅga, training the mind (citta) to perceive both the nirguṇa and saguṇa presence of Śiva.