Shloka 29

Gaṅgā-Avataraṇa and the Naming of Gaṅgādvāra (गङ्गावतरणम्—गङ्गाद्वारप्रसिद्धिः)

Devanagari script

ततस्ते भिन्नमतयो गां कृत्वा कृत्रिमां द्विजाः । तद्धान्यभक्षणासक्तां चक्रुस्तां कुटिलाशयाः

Transliteration

tataste bhinnamatayo gāṃ kṛtvā kṛtrimāṃ dvijāḥ | taddhānyabhakṣaṇāsaktāṃ cakrustāṃ kuṭilāśayāḥ

Translation

Then those twice-born men—divided in opinion and crooked at heart—fashioned an artificial cow, and made her intent on eating that grain.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable adverb (अव्यय): ‘then/thereupon’

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; pronoun referring to the agents (context: the twice-born)

• bhinna-matayaḥ: of divided minds
• bhinna-matayaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhinna (कृदन्त; √bhid ‘to split’/भिद्) + mati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; बहुव्रीहि: ‘whose minds/opinions are divided’ qualifying ‘dvijāḥ’

• gām: a cow
• gām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय, ल्यबन्त): ‘having made/done’

• kṛtrimām: artificial, fabricated
• kṛtrimām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛtrima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; qualifies ‘gām’

• dvijāḥ: Brahmins (twice-born)
• dvijāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• tad: that
• tad: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/अन्वय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, used as demonstrative/connector: ‘that/then’; here as first member in compound with ‘dhānya…’

• dhānya-bhakṣaṇa-āsaktām: addicted to eating grain
• dhānya-bhakṣaṇa-āsaktām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhānya (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + āsakta (कृदन्त; √sañj/√as ‘to cling’/सञ्ज्/अस्)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘attached to eating grain’ qualifying ‘tām (gām)’

• cakruḥ: they made
• cakruḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural; parasmaipada

• tām: that (cow)
• tām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; refers to ‘gām’

• kuṭila-āśayāḥ: with deceitful intentions
• kuṭila-āśayāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kuṭila (प्रातिपदिक) + āśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; बहुव्रीहि: ‘whose intentions are crooked’ qualifying ‘dvijāḥ/te’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Bhairava

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Tryambakeśvara

Sthala Purana: The plot device of a fabricated cow engineered to destroy grain foreshadows a false accusation against Gautama; the māhātmya uses this moral inversion to highlight how adharma around a tirtha leads to downfall, while the Jyotirliṅga remains the axis of truth and purification.

Significance: Didactic warning: deceit near sacred precincts intensifies karmic consequence; pilgrims are urged toward satya, ahiṃsā, and reverence for cows and brahmins.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Caṇḍikā

Role: destructive

Characters & Entities

• Brahmins

FAQs

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

It highlights that adharma begins in the mind: when intention becomes crooked, people fabricate appearances to justify wrongdoing—karma then follows the inner deceit, not the outer disguise.

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

In Shaiva understanding, true Linga-worship is grounded in sincerity, truthfulness, and purity; contrived acts and hypocrisy oppose Shiva’s principle of inner integrity, making ritual empty when the heart is deceitful.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Cultivate śuddha-bhāva (pure intention) before japa and pūjā—especially Panchakshara japa (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with self-examination, truthfulness, and restraint so worship is not merely external show.