Shloka 36

साधुवेषद्विजाह्वयावतारकथनम् | Account of the ‘Sādhu-veṣa’ Brahmin-Named Incarnation

Prelude

Devanagari script

इति प्रोक्तस्तु ते तात साधुवेषो द्विजाह्वयः । शिवावतारो हि मया देवकार्य्यकरः प्रभो

Transliteration

iti proktastu te tāta sādhuveṣo dvijāhvayaḥ | śivāvatāro hi mayā devakāryyakaraḥ prabho

Translation

So, lieber Sohn, habe ich dir von jenem berichtet, der Dvijāhvaya genannt wird und die Gestalt eines heiligen Asketen trug. Er ist wahrlich eine Inkarnation Śivas, von mir offenbart, o Herr, um das Werk der Götter zu vollbringen.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), वाक्य-समाप्ति/उद्धरण-सूचक (quotative particle)

• proktaḥ: was said
• proktaḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘spoken/said’

• tu: indeed, but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), विरोध/अन्वय-बोधक (particle: but/indeed)

• te: of you / your
• te: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive, 6th), एकवचन (singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• tāta: dear father / dear one
• tāta: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (singular)

• sādhuveṣaḥ: (one) in ascetic guise
• sādhuveṣaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhu (प्रातिपदिक) + veṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (कर्मधारय-सम्भव): साधोः वेषः / साधु-वेṣaḥ ‘ascetic’s guise’

• dvijāhvayaḥ: called Dvijāhvaya
• dvijāhvayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + āhvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: द्विज-आह्वयः ‘named/called “Dvija”’

• śivāvatāraḥ: an incarnation of Śiva
• śivāvatāraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + avatāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: शिवस्य अवतारः (incarnation of Śiva)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), निश्चय/हेतु-बोधक (particle: indeed/for)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental, 3rd), एकवचन (singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• devakāryyakaraḥ: doer of the gods’ task
• devakāryyakaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + kārya (प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: देवानां कार्यं करोति इति (doer of the gods’ task)

• prabho: O lord
• prabho: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Brahma

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It emphasizes that Śiva compassionately assumes a saguna form—here as an ascetic—so divine order (deva-kārya) is fulfilled and beings are guided toward dharma and liberation.

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

It supports saguna-upāsanā: just as Śiva is worshiped as the Liṅga (a merciful, graspable support for devotion), He also appears as avatāras to make His grace accessible within the world.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Adopt sādhu-bhāva (humility and purity), and worship Śiva in a concrete form—Liṅga-pūjā with Bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) and japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—seeking alignment with divine purpose.