Shloka 34

गुरुत्व-परम्परा-शौचविधि-प्रश्नः

Questions on Guruhood, Lineage, and Purificatory Discipline

Devanagari script

ततश्च देशिकस्तस्य दर्भैराच्छाद्य मस्तके । मण्डलस्थेशदिग्भागे चतुरस्रं प्रकल्पयेत्

Transliteration

tataśca deśikastasya darbhairācchādya mastake | maṇḍalastheśadigbhāge caturasraṃ prakalpayet

Translation

Then the officiating teacher should cover his head with sacred darbha grass, and in the quarter of the maṇḍala presided over by Īśa (Śiva), he should arrange a square ritual space.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla/Deśa-adhikaraṇa (काल/देश-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) of sequence/time

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)

• deśikaḥ: the teacher/preceptor
• deśikaḥ: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (1st case/Nominative), Ekavacana (singular)

• tasya: of him/of that (person)
• tasya: Sambandha/Ṣaṣṭhī (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (pronoun), Puṃliṅga/napuṃsaka-sādhāraṇa, Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (6th case/Genitive), Ekavacana

• darbhaiḥ: with darbha-grass
• darbhaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd case/Instrumental), Bahuvacana (plural)

• ācchādya: having covered
• ācchādya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√chad (छद् धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), from ā-√chad (to cover), expressing prior action

• mastake: on the head
• mastake: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mastaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (neuter), Saptamī vibhakti (7th case/Locative), Ekavacana

• maṇḍala-stha-īśa-dik-bhāge: in the Īśāna-direction sector within the maṇḍala
• maṇḍala-stha-īśa-dik-bhāge: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇḍala (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √sthā) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक) + dik (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Samāsa (समास): Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) chain; final member bhāga. Puṃliṅga (masculine), Saptamī vibhakti (7th/Locative), Ekavacana; meaning: 'in the portion of the direction of Īśa (NE) situated in the maṇḍala'

• caturasram: a square (quadrilateral)
• caturasram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (neuter), Dvitīyā vibhakti (2nd case/Accusative), Ekavacana

• prakalpayet: should arrange/construct
• prakalpayet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√kḷp (कॢप् धातु)
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (विधिलिङ्/optative), Prathama puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana; parasmaipada

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Kailasa Samhita teachings to the sages, describing the prescribed rite)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Īśāna

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that approaching Śiva (Īśa) requires inner and outer purity: darbha symbolizes sanctity and restraint, while the carefully formed square mandala signifies a stabilized, disciplined field for invoking Śiva’s presence in Saguna worship.

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

By prescribing a consecrated mandala sector “of Īśa,” the verse supports structured ritual worship where Śiva is invoked through a defined sacred geometry and directionality—an essential framework for Linga-centered puja and formal āgamic-style worship.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Cover the head with darbha as a purity-observance, then prepare a square altar-space within the mandala in Śiva’s quarter; this becomes the focused seat for mantra-japa and subsequent Shiva-puja steps.