Shloka 45

शिवसतीविवाहोत्तरलीला — Post‑marital Līlā of Śiva and Satī

Devanagari script

तद्वक्त्रचंद्र पीयूषपानस्थिरतनुर्हरः । नानावैशेषिकीं तन्वीमवस्थां स कदाचन

Transliteration

tadvaktracaṃdra pīyūṣapānasthiratanurharaḥ | nānāvaiśeṣikīṃ tanvīmavasthāṃ sa kadācana

Translation

Having steadied His body by drinking the nectar-like ambrosia of the moon of her face, Hara (Śiva) never at any time assumed a gross embodied condition of varied, particularized states.

Word by Word

• तत्: her/that
• तत्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-सम्बन्धार्थे (genitive sense as first member), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद

• वक्त्रचन्द्र: moon(-like) face
• वक्त्रचन्द्र: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक) + चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (समासाङ्ग); तत्पुरुष: वक्त्रस्य चन्द्रः (moon-like face / moon of the face)

• पीयूषपानस्थिरतनुः: whose body was fixed (absorbed) in drinking nectar
• पीयूषपानस्थिरतनुः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पीयूष (प्रातिपदिक) + पान (पा धातु, ल्युट्; प्रातिपदिक) + स्थिर (प्रातिपदिक) + तनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: पीयूषस्य पानम् → पीयूषपान; पीयूषपाने स्थिरा तनुः यस्य

• हरः: Hara (Śiva)
• हरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• नाना: various
• नाना: Visheshana (विशेषण/Adverbial qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाना (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विशेषणार्थे (various)

• वैशेषिकीम्: distinct/special
• वैशेषिकीम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैशेषिकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• तन्वीम्: slender (one)
• तन्वीम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तन्वी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• अवस्थाम्: state/condition
• अवस्थाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवस्था (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• कदाचन: ever/at any time
• कदाचन: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचन (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Sūta Gosvāmi (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Satī

Role: nurturing

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Sati

FAQs

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

It presents Śiva as inwardly steady and undisturbed—His consciousness remains stabilized in divine bliss, not pulled into fluctuating, differentiated conditions. In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, Pati remains sovereign and unchanged while blessing the devotee with the same steadiness.

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

The verse highlights Śiva’s stable, unchanging essence even while engaged with divine form and rasa (devotional sweetness). Linga worship trains the devotee to perceive this constancy—Saguna devotion leading the mind to the unshaken presence of Shiva beyond changing appearances.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Śiva’s sthiratā (steadiness) through japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and dhyāna on the calm, moonlike face of the Devī—letting the mind “drink nectar” by sustained, single-pointed devotion.