Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 12

अलकापतेः तपः-लिङ्गप्रतिष्ठा च वरप्राप्तिः / The Lord of Alakā: Austerity, Liṅga-Establishment, and the Receiving of a Boon

Devanagari script

पुरो ददर्श श्रीकंठं चन्द्रचूडमुमाधवम् । तत्तेजः परिभूताक्षितेजाः संमील्य लोचने

Transliteration

puro dadarśa śrīkaṃṭhaṃ candracūḍamumādhavam | tattejaḥ paribhūtākṣitejāḥ saṃmīlya locane

Translation

Vor ihm erblickte er Śrīkaṇṭha—Śiva, den mondgekrönten Herrn, den Geliebten Umās. Von der Ausstrahlung jenes Herrn überwältigt, wurde der Glanz seiner eigenen Augen gedämpft, und er schloss die Augen.

Word by Word

• पुरः: in front
• पुरः: Desha-adhikarana (देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देश-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place: in front)

• ददर्श: saw
• ददर्श: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• श्रीकण्ठम्: Śrīkaṇṭha (Śiva)
• श्रीकण्ठम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री-कण्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (श्रीमान् कण्ठः = the glorious-necked)

• चन्द्रचूडम्: moon-crested (Śiva)
• चन्द्रचूडम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्र-चूड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (चन्द्रः चूडा यस्य = having the moon as crest)

• उमाधवम्: husband of Umā
• उमाधवम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उमा-धव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (उमायाः धवः = husband of Umā)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण

• तेजः: splendor
• तेजः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• परिभूत-अक्षि-तेजाः: one whose eye-brilliance was overwhelmed
• परिभूत-अक्षि-तेजाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि-√भू (धातु) + क्त; अक्षि-तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (परिभूतं अक्षितेजो यस्य = whose eye-luster was overpowered)

• संमील्य: having closed
• संमील्य: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√मील् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-कृदन्त (gerund/ल्यप्), ‘having closed’

• लोचने: the two eyes
• लोचने: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), द्विवचन

Speaker

Sūta Gosvāmi (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not a localized Jyotirliṅga account; it is a direct darśana of Śrīkaṇṭha (auspicious-throated) and Candracūḍa, emphasizing recognizable iconography after the initial tejas.

Significance: Darśana of Śiva with Umā-bhāva (Umādhava) is portrayed as so potent that ordinary sensory capacity fails—implying the need for divinely granted ‘dṛk-sāmarthya’ (spiritual vision).

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Umā

Role: nurturing

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Parvati (Uma)

FAQs

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

It portrays how Śiva’s tejas (divine radiance) surpasses ordinary perception, humbling the embodied being; true knowing arises through reverent surrender (bhakti) rather than mere sensory power.

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

The verse emphasizes Saguna Śiva—Śrīkaṇṭha, moon-crested, Umā’s Lord—whose manifest glory can overwhelm the senses; similarly, Linga-worship trains the devotee to approach that same Presence with steadiness, purity, and devotion.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A takeaway is pratyāhāra-like inwardness: when overwhelmed by divine splendor, turn within—mentally bow and repeat the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with calm focus, as in Śiva-dhyāna during Mahāśivarātri or daily pūjā.