Shloka 8

प्रकृतितत्त्व-विचारः / Inquiry into Prakṛti (Nature/Śakti) and Śiva’s Transcendence

Devanagari script

तस्माच्च प्रकृतेस्सद्भिर्न कार्यस्संग्रहः क्वचित् । स्थातव्यं निर्विकारैश्च लोकाचार विवर्जितैः

Transliteration

tasmācca prakṛtessadbhirna kāryassaṃgrahaḥ kvacit | sthātavyaṃ nirvikāraiśca lokācāra vivarjitaiḥ

Translation

Therefore, for the noble who seek the highest good, there should never be hoarding or possessive accumulation arising from Prakṛti, worldly nature. One should remain steady—free from inner modification—and live detached from mere social convention, abiding in unwavering purity of being.

Word by Word

• tasmāt: therefore/from that
• tasmāt: Apādāna (अपादान/source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Pañcamī (5th/पञ्चमी), Ekavacana; ablative singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (समुच्चय-निपात/and)

• prakṛteḥ: of nature/one's disposition
• prakṛteḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prakṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th/षष्ठी), Ekavacana; genitive singular

• sadbhīḥ: by the good (people)
• sadbhīḥ: Karta (कर्ता/agent—by)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana; instrumental plural; ‘by the good (people)’

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध/negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Niṣedha-nipāta (निषेध-निपात/negation)

• kāryaḥ: to be done, should be done
• kāryaḥ: Vidheyaviśeṣaṇa (विधेय-विशेषण/predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kārya (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana; nominative singular; predicate adjective (‘to be done/should be done’)

• saṃgrahaḥ: accumulation, hoarding
• saṃgrahaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃgraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana; nominative singular

• kvacit: ever, anywhere
• kvacit: Deśa/Kāla (देश/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: Deśa-kāla-avyaya (देश-काल-अव्यय/at any time/anywhere)

• sthātavyam: one should remain/stand
• sthātavyam: Kriyā (क्रिया/injunctive predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta—Tavya (तव्य) gerundive/future passive participle; Napuṃsakaliṅga, Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana; impersonal injunction ‘it should be remained/one should remain’

• nirvikāraiḥ: with/among the unchanging
• nirvikāraiḥ: Sahakāraka (सहकारक/association)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-vikāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana; instrumental plural; समासः—तत्पुरुष (‘without change’)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (समुच्चय-निपात/and)

• loka-ācāra: worldly custom
• loka-ācāra: Karma (कर्म/object—excluded)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + ācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd/द्वितीया), Ekavacana; accusative singular used with vivarjitaiḥ (as object of exclusion); समासः—तत्पुरुष (‘worldly custom’)

• vivarjitaiḥ: with those who have renounced/avoided
• vivarjitaiḥ: Sahakāraka (सहकारक/association)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√vṛj (वृज्/वर्ज् धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta—Kta (क्त) past passive participle; Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana; instrumental plural; ‘by/with those who are devoid of/avoiding’

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s renunciant teaching within the Parvati Khanda context)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches vairāgya (dispassion): liberation is supported by refusing possessive accumulation born of Prakṛti and by abiding as nirvikāra—steady, unshaken awareness oriented to Shiva rather than social approval.

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

Linga-worship trains the devotee to shift identity from external status and possessions to Shiva as the inner Self and supreme Lord (Pati). Detachment from “lokācāra” helps keep worship pure—offered for moksha and devotion, not for display.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Cultivate daily steadiness through japa of the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with a simple, non-ostentatious discipline; keep life minimal, and meditate on Shiva with an unmodified (nirvikāra) mind rather than chasing social rituals for prestige.