Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 10

शब्दब्रह्मतनुवर्णनम् — Description of the Form of Śabda-Brahman

Devanagari script

आदिमध्यांतरहितमानंदस्यापिकारणम् । सत्यमानन्दममृतं परं ब्रह्मपरायणम्

Transliteration

ādimadhyāṃtarahitamānaṃdasyāpikāraṇam | satyamānandamamṛtaṃ paraṃ brahmaparāyaṇam

Translation

Er ist ohne Anfang, ohne Mitte und ohne Ende; ja, er ist selbst die Ursache der Wonne. Er ist die Wahrheit selbst—Ānanda, das Unsterbliche (amṛta), das höchste Brahman—dessen Wesen und letzte Zuflucht jene transzendente Wirklichkeit ist: Śiva.

Word by Word

• आदि: beginning
• आदि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (समास-पूर्वपद), एकवचन; ‘beginning’ (as member)

• मध्य: middle
• मध्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (समास-पूर्वपद), एकवचन; ‘middle’ (as member)

• अन्तर: end
• अन्तर: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (समास-पूर्वपद), एकवचन; ‘end/interval’ (as member)

• हितम्: devoid (of)
• हितम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हा (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त) → हीन/हित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘abandoned/devoid’

• आनन्दस्य: of bliss
• आनन्दस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपेक्षा-अव्यय (particle: also/even)

• कारणम्: cause
• कारणम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सत्यम्: true
• सत्यम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• आनन्दम्: bliss
• आनन्दम्: Visheshya (विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आनन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अमृतम्: immortal/nectar-like
• अमृतम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• ब्रह्मपरायणम्: having Brahman as the ultimate refuge/goal
• ब्रह्मपरायणम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्मणि परायणम्/ब्रह्मपरायणः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s supreme nature within the Rudrasaṃhitā creation section)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: A cosmogonic epithet cluster: beginningless/endless Śiva as satya-ānanda-amṛta, the ultimate refuge; it functions as metaphysical preface to later theophanies rather than a site legend.

Significance: Recitation/meditation cultivates niścalatā (steadfastness) in the ‘parāyaṇa’ (final resort) of Śiva, a Siddhānta marker of śaraṇāgati leading to anugraha.

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: kalpa-cyclicity implied (beginning/middle/end negated)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Brahman

FAQs

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

It declares Śiva as the beginningless, endless Supreme Reality—Truth, Bliss, and Immortality—showing that liberation is attained by taking refuge in Him as Para Brahman beyond all limits.

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

Though the verse speaks of the limitless, nirguṇa Supreme (Para Brahman), the Shiva Purana teaches that devotees approach this same Reality through saguna worship—especially the Śiva-liṅga—as a concrete support for devotion and contemplation.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Śiva as satyam–ānanda–amṛta (Truth–Bliss–Deathless), and support that contemplation with japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” ideally alongside liṅga-dhyāna and simple purity observances.