Shloka 46

पार्वत्याः पितृगृहगमनं तथा मङ्गलस्वागतम् | Pārvatī’s Return to Her Father’s House and the Auspicious Welcome

Devanagari script

ततो ददर्श जगतां स्रष्टारं स चतुर्मुखम् । रक्तवर्णं पठन्तञ्च श्रुतिसूक्तं गिरीश्वरः

Transliteration

tato dadarśa jagatāṃ sraṣṭāraṃ sa caturmukham | raktavarṇaṃ paṭhantañca śrutisūktaṃ girīśvaraḥ

Translation

Then Girīśvara (Lord Śiva), the Lord of the mountains, beheld the Creator of the worlds—four-faced Brahmā—of a ruddy hue, reciting hymns drawn from the Śruti (the Vedas).

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla (काल-अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; temporal adverb (thereupon/then)

• dadarśa: saw
• dadarśa: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• jagatām: of the worlds
• jagatām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; genitive plural

• sraṣṭāram: the creator
• sraṣṭāram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sraṣṭṛ (स्रष्टृ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; accusative

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; pronoun

• catur-mukham: four-faced
• catur-mukham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि-समास ‘having four faces’ (ब्रह्माणम् विशेषयति)

• rakta-varṇam: red-colored
• rakta-varṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rakta (प्रातिपदिक) + varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास ‘red-colored’

• paṭhantam: reciting
• paṭhantam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paṭh (पठ् धातु) → paṭhat (शतृ-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (शतृ/Present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘reciting’

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• śruti-sūktam: a Vedic hymn
• śruti-sūktam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śruti (प्रातिपदिक) + sūkta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास ‘a hymn of the Veda/Śruti’; object of ‘paṭhantam’

• girīśvaraḥ: the Lord of the mountain (Śiva)
• girīśvaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: girīśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; subject

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Brahma

FAQs

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

It shows Śiva acknowledging Brahmā’s role as the cosmic creator while establishing that Vedic recitation (Śruti) is sanctified when oriented toward the Supreme Lord; creation and sacred knowledge function under Śiva’s overarching sovereignty (Pati).

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

By depicting Śiva as directly present and perceivable (Saguna), the verse supports devotional worship where the Lord is approached through form—commonly the Śiva-liṅga—while Vedic hymns and mantras are offered as acts of reverence.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is Veda-mantra or Śiva-stotra pāṭha with devotion—especially recitation aligned to Śruti and the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”)—as a disciplined form of worship that purifies the mind and steadies meditation.