Shloka 19

Devanagari script

पञ्चाब्दवयसं बालं वहन्ती गतभर्तृका । राज्ञा कृतां महाकालपूजां सापश्यदादरात्

Transliteration

pañcābdavayasaṃ bālaṃ vahantī gatabhartṛkā | rājñā kṛtāṃ mahākālapūjāṃ sāpaśyadādarāt

Translation

A widow, carrying a five-year-old child, beheld with reverent attention the worship of Mahākāla that was being performed by the king.

Word by Word

• पञ्च-अब्द-वयसम्: five-years-old
• पञ्च-अब्द-वयसम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + अब्द (प्रातिपदिक) + वयस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समासः (पञ्च अब्दाः यस्य वयः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बालम् इति विशेषणम्

• बालम्: a child
• बालम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• वहन्ती: carrying
• वहन्ती: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वह् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त (present active participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृसमाना-क्रिया

• गत-भर्तृका: whose husband was gone (widowed/abandoned)
• गत-भर्तृका: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत (कृदन्त; गम् धातु) + भर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक) + का (स्त्रीप्रत्यय)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिः (गतः भर्ता यस्याः सा); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; गोप्याः विशेषणम्

• राज्ञा: by the king
• राज्ञा: कर्ता (Karta/Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• कृताम्: done/performed
• कृताम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि क्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; पूजाम् इति विशेषणम्

• महाकाल-पूजाम्: worship of Mahākāla
• महाकाल-पूजाम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाकाल (प्रातिपदिक) + पूजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (महाकालस्य पूजा); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सा: she
• सा: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अपश्यत्: saw
• अपश्यत्: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• आदरात्: with reverence
• आदरात्: हेतु (Hetu/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेतौ (because of/with respect)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya in the Kotirudra Samhita’s Jyotirlinga account)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: The king’s formal pūjā becomes a public spectacle of dharma that transmits śiva-saṃskāra to onlookers; the widow’s reverent seeing (darśana) functions as an indirect participation in the jyotirliṅga’s grace.

Significance: Highlights two modes of merit: (1) rājapūjā as exemplary public dharma, (2) darśana with ādarā (reverence) as a powerful, accessible act for the vulnerable (widow, child).

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Mahakala
• King
• Widow
• Child

FAQs

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

The verse highlights that sincere reverence (ādara) toward Mahākāla—Śiva as Lord of Time—can arise in anyone, regardless of grief or social status, and that such attentive darśana of worship is itself a doorway to bhakti and grace.

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

Mahākāla worship here points to Saguna Śiva approached through ritual (pūjā) and sacred presence; witnessing the king’s pūjā implies contact with the Jyotirlinga tradition where Śiva is adored in a tangible, worshipful form that grants protection and upliftment.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The immediate practice is ādara-yukta darśana—mindful, reverent attention to Śiva’s pūjā; as a takeaway, one may pair such devotion with japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) while contemplating Mahākāla as the inner ruler of time and death.