Shloka 57

मेना-शिवदर्शन-प्रस्थानम् | Menā’s Quest to Behold Śiva

Departure for Śiva’s Darśana

Devanagari script

अंगुल्या दर्शयंस्त्वं तां मुने रुद्रगणांस्ततः । हरस्य सेवकान्पश्य हरं चापि वरानने

Transliteration

aṃgulyā darśayaṃstvaṃ tāṃ mune rudragaṇāṃstataḥ | harasya sevakānpaśya haraṃ cāpi varānane

Translation

Pointing with her finger, the fair-faced lady said: “O sage, look there—see the hosts of Rudras. Behold also the attendants of Hara, and see Hara Himself.”

Word by Word

• aṃgulyā: with (your) finger
• aṃgulyā: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṃgulī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Singular (एकवचन)

• darśayan: showing
• darśayan: Karta (कर्ता/agent as participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: darśaya (धातु causative of √dṛś/दृश्) (कृदन्त, शतृ)
• Form: Present active participle (वर्तमानकाले परस्मैपदी शतृ), Masculine, Nominative singular; agreeing with tvam

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• tām: her
• tām: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन/8), Singular (एकवचन)

• rudra-gaṇān: Rudra's hosts (Rudra-gaṇas)
• rudra-gaṇān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Plural (बहुवचन)

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण), indeclinable

• harasya: of Hara (Śiva)
• harasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Singular (एकवचन)

• sevakān: servants
• sevakān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sevaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Plural (बहुवचन)

• paśya: see, behold
• paśya: Kriyā (क्रिया/command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paś (पश्/दृश्-समूह) (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• haram: Hara (Śiva)
• haram: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/conjunctive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक), indeclinable

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), indeclinable

• vara-ānane: O fair-faced one
• vara-ānane: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक) + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन/8), Singular (एकवचन); address to a woman (e.g., Pārvatī)

Speaker

Narrator (Suta Goswami, relating the Parvati Khanda narrative)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Umāpati

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Rudraganas

FAQs

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

The verse highlights śiva-darśana—direct recognition of the Lord along with His Rudra-gaṇas—showing that divine grace can make the unseen spiritual retinue of Pati (Śiva) perceptible, strengthening bhakti and surrender.

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

It emphasizes Saguna Śiva: the Lord as personally knowable and “seen,” together with His attendants. In Linga-worship, this same Saguna presence is approached through aniconic form, leading the devotee from outward reverence to inward realization of Śiva’s nearness.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is dhyāna (visual contemplation) on Śiva with His gaṇas while repeating the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” supported by traditional aids like bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa to steady devotion and remembrance.