Shloka 26

Devanagari script

प्रथमं सद्गुरुं प्राप्य भक्तिभाव समन्वितः । शिवबुद्ध्या करोत्युच्चैः पूजनं स्मरणादिकम्

Transliteration

prathamaṃ sadguruṃ prāpya bhaktibhāva samanvitaḥ | śivabuddhyā karotyuccaiḥ pūjanaṃ smaraṇādikam

Translation

First, having attained a true Guru and being filled with the mood of devotion, he performs—holding the awareness that the Guru is Shiva Himself—lofty acts of worship, remembrance, and related disciplines.

Word by Word

• प्रथमम्: firstly
• प्रथमम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रथम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग/क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative: firstly)

• सद्गुरुम्: the true guru
• सद्गुरुम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत् + गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (सद्गुरुः = good/true guru)

• प्राप्य: having attained
• प्राप्य: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) → प्राप्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (absolutive/gerund), अव्यय; ‘having attained’

• भक्तिभावम्: devotional attitude
• भक्तिभावम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति + भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भक्तेः भावः = devotional attitude)

• समन्वितः: endowed (with)
• समन्वितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + अन्वि (धातु) → समन्वित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘endowed/possessed’

• शिवबुद्ध्या: with Śiva-consciousness
• शिवबुद्ध्या: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव + बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (शिवस्य बुद्धिः/शिवविषया बुद्धिः = with the thought of Śiva)

• करोति: does, performs
• करोति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• उच्चैः: loudly/with exaltation
• उच्चैः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उच्चैः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: loudly/aloft)

• पूजनम्: worship
• पूजनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्मरणादिकम्: remembrance and the like
• स्मरणादिकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्मरण + आदि + क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (स्मरणं आदिः यस्य = remembrance etc.)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Sadguru

FAQs

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

It establishes Guru-tattva as the doorway to Shiva-upasana: one begins by finding a true Guru and, seeing the Guru as Shiva, performs worship and remembrance with steady bhakti—an essential Shaiva Siddhanta orientation for grace (anugraha) and liberation.

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

By cultivating śiva-buddhi (seeing Shiva in the Guru), the devotee’s external worship—such as Linga-pūjā, offerings, and temple rites—becomes inwardly consecrated; Saguna worship is thus grounded in right understanding and guided practice rather than mere ritual.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It points to pūjā and smaraṇa as core disciplines—practically expressed as daily Shiva-pūjā, japa of the Panchakshara ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya"), and mindful remembrance/meditation under the Guru’s guidance.