Shloka 14

Munipraśna-varṇana

Description of the Sages’ Inquiry

Devanagari script

देहात्मदृष्टया मूढा नास्तिकाः पशुबुद्धयः । मातृपितृकृतद्वेषाः स्त्रीदेवाः कामकिंकराः

Transliteration

dehātmadṛṣṭayā mūḍhā nāstikāḥ paśubuddhayaḥ | mātṛpitṛkṛtadveṣāḥ strīdevāḥ kāmakiṃkarāḥ

Translation

Von der Ansicht verblendet, der Körper allein sei das Selbst, werden sie zu Ungläubigen mit tierischem Verstand. Sie hegen Hass sogar gegen Mutter und Vater; sie machen eine Frau zu ihrer «Gottheit» und werden zu Dienern der Begierde.

Word by Word

• देह-आत्म-दृष्ट्या: by the view that the body is the self
• देह-आत्म-दृष्ट्या: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + दृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—देहस्य आत्मा इति (कर्मधारय/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + तस्य दृष्टिः (तत्पुरुष)

• मूढाः: deluded
• मूढाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूढ (कृदन्त; √मुह् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; भूतकृत् (past participle) used adjectivally

• नास्तिकाः: atheists/deniers
• नास्तिकाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नास्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• पशु-बुद्धयः: of beast-like intellect
• पशु-बुद्धयः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पशु (प्रातिपदिक) + बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः—पशुवत् बुद्धिः येषां ते

• मातृ-पितृ-कृत-द्वेषाः: having hatred caused by (or toward) mother and father
• मातृ-पितृ-कृत-द्वेषाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मातृ (प्रातिपदिक) + पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत (कृदन्त; √कृ धातु) + द्वेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—मातृपितृभ्यां कृतः द्वेषः (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष)

• स्त्री-देवाः: those who treat women as their deity
• स्त्री-देवाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक) + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः—स्त्री एव देवः (स्त्रीं देवतां कुर्वन्ति)

• काम-किंकराः: servants of lust
• काम-किंकराः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक) + किंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः—कामस्य किंकराः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating the teaching of the Śiva Purāṇa’s opening context to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not tied to a Jyotirliṅga; it articulates the doctrinal root of bondage: dehātma-dṛṣṭi (identifying Self with body) leading to nāstikya and ‘paśu-buddhi’. This maps closely to Śaiva Siddhānta’s account of paśu under pāśa (mala/karma/māyā).

Significance: Implied corrective is turning from dehātma-dṛṣṭi to Śiva-jñāna through śravaṇa and sādhana; temple discipline and guru-upadeśa reorient devotion from kāma to īśvara-bhakti.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: nurturing

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Kali-yuga anthropology: spiritual delusion as a yuga-symptom.

FAQs

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

It diagnoses key obstacles to Śiva-bhakti and mokṣa: body-identification (dehātma-buddhi), denial of Īśvara/dharma, and slavery to desire—traits of the bound soul (paśu) that must be purified through devotion and right knowledge.

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

Liṅga/Saguṇa-Śiva worship reorients devotion from transient bodily and sensual objects to the eternal Pati (Śiva). By placing Śiva as the true ‘deva’ of one’s life, the practitioner loosens kāma-driven fixation and gains steadiness in dharma.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Practice the pañcākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with daily Liṅga-pūjā, and adopt Śaiva disciplines like vibhūti (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa as reminders of dispassion and self-restraint, countering dehātma-buddhi and kāma.