Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 26

शिवस्य सैन्यप्रयाणम् तथा गणपतिनामावलिः (Śiva’s Mobilization for War and the Catalogue of Gaṇa Commanders)

Devanagari script

अशनिर्भानुकश्चैव चतुः षष्ट्या सहस्रशः । कंकालः कालकः कालो नन्दी सर्वान्तकस्तथा

Transliteration

aśanirbhānukaścaiva catuḥ ṣaṣṭyā sahasraśaḥ | kaṃkālaḥ kālakaḥ kālo nandī sarvāntakastathā

Translation

Und da war auch Aśanir-bhānuka, der in vierundsechzigtausend Gestalten erschien. Da waren Kaṅkāla, Kālaka, Kāla und auch Nandī, zusammen mit Sarvāntaka—furchterregende Mächte Śivas, die alles dem bestimmten Ende zuführen.

Word by Word

• अशनि-र्भानुकः: Aśani-bhānuka (a name)
• अशनि-र्भानुकः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशनि (प्रातिपदिक) + भानुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (descriptive name: ‘lightning-like Bhānuka’/‘Bhānuka as thunderbolt’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed, also
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अवधारणार्थक (emphatic)

• चतुः-षष्ट्या: by sixty-four (i.e., in 64-fold)
• चतुः-षष्ट्या: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुः (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + षष्टि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-द्वन्द्व (copulative numeral compound = 64); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine, as in षष्टि), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• सहस्रशः: by thousands
• सहस्रशः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: शस्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (distributive adverb), ‘by thousands’

• कंकालः: Kaṅkāla (a name)
• कंकालः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कंकाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (विशेष-नाम)

• कालकः: Kālaka (a name)
• कालकः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (विशेष-नाम)

• कालः: Kāla (Time/Death; a name)
• कालः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (विशेष-नाम)

• नन्दी: Nandī
• नन्दी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दिन्/नन्दी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (विशेष-नाम)

• सर्व-अन्तकः: ender of all
• सर्व-अन्तकः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive: ‘ender of all’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तथा: also
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), समुच्चयार्थ (also/likewise)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Rudrasaṃhitā’s Yuddhakhaṇḍa account to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Kālabhairava

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: destructive

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Kāla-tattva evoked (Time as universal ender)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Nandi
• Kāla (Time)

FAQs

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

The verse lists Shiva’s fierce attendants and time-forms to show that all dissolution ultimately belongs to Shiva (Pati). In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, Time and death are not independent powers; they function under Shiva’s lordship, reminding the soul (paśu) to seek refuge in him for liberation.

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

These names describe Saguna manifestations—Shiva’s active, protective, and dissolving powers—while the Linga signifies Shiva’s supreme reality beyond limitation. Worship of the Linga includes reverence for these functional powers (like Kāla) as aspects of Shiva, not as separate deities.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is to meditate on Shiva as Kāla (the Lord of Time) while repeating the Panchakshara mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” cultivating detachment from fear of death and steadiness in devotion; traditional Shaiva practice may include Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrāksha as aids to this remembrance.