Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 36

शैवधर्मप्रशंसा तथा पञ्चविधसाधनविभागः / Praise of Śaiva Dharma and the Fivefold Classification of Practice

Devanagari script

रुद्दुःखं दुःखहेतुर्वा तद्रावयति नः प्रभुः । रुद्र इत्युच्यते सद्भिः शिवः परमकारणम्

Transliteration

rudduḥkhaṃ duḥkhaheturvā tadrāvayati naḥ prabhuḥ | rudra ityucyate sadbhiḥ śivaḥ paramakāraṇam

Translation

Sei es der Schmerz selbst oder die Ursache des Schmerzes: Unser Herr lässt ihn aufschreien und vertreibt ihn. Darum nennen die Edlen Ihn „Rudra“; und dieser Śiva ist die höchste Ursache.

Word by Word

• rut-duḥkham: the sorrow of crying/roaring (lamentation)
• rut-duḥkham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rut (प्रातिपदिक) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) (rut=crying/roaring) + duḥkha; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• duḥkha-hetuḥ: cause of sorrow
• duḥkha-hetuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + hetu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) 'duḥkhasya hetuḥ'; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: Disjunctive particle (विकल्पार्थक निपात)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• rāvayati: drives away/makes (it) cry out
• rāvayati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rāvaya (णिजन्त from √rā/√ru?; causative of √ru 'to cry/roar') (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), Parasmaipada, 3rd Person, Singular; Causative (णिजन्त) 'causes to cry/drive away by roaring'

• naḥ: for us/to us
• naḥ: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदानम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी) or Dative (4th/चतुर्थी) Plural (बहुवचन); here Dative sense 'for us'

• prabhuḥ: the Lord
• prabhuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• rudraḥ: Rudra
• rudraḥ: Pratijñā/Predicate nominative (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/उद्धरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति-निपात)

• ucyate: is called
• ucyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु √वच्)
• Form: Present (लट्), Ātmanepada, 3rd Person, Singular; Passive sense (कर्मणि प्रयोग) 'is called'

• sadbhiḥ: by the good/wise
• sadbhiḥ: Karaṇa/Agent-instrument (करणम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• śivaḥ: Śiva
• śivaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• parama-kāraṇam: the supreme cause
• parama-kāraṇam: Pratijñā/Predicate (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) 'paramaṃ kāraṇam'; Neuter, Nominative (1st) / Accusative (2nd), Singular; here predicate nominative with śivaḥ

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Rudra

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: Frames Śiva as the remover of duḥkha and its causes; supports the general tīrtha-idea that darśana and worship of Śiva alleviates affliction and grants śānti.

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Rudra

FAQs

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

It defines Rudra as the Lord who expels both suffering and its root-cause, pointing to Shiva as Pati—the supreme causal reality who alone can sever bondage (pāśa) and grant liberation.

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

In Saguna worship, the devotee approaches Shiva as Rudra—the compassionate remover of duḥkha—through Linga-pūjā, mantra, and devotion, trusting that the Supreme Cause responds by dissolving both pain and its karmic seeds.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Japa of Shiva’s names—especially “Rudra” and the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya)—with steady dhyāna on Shiva as the inner Lord is the practical takeaway for uprooting duḥkha and its causes.