Shloka 25

नारदस्य विष्णूपदेशवर्णनम् — Nārada and Viṣṇu: Instruction after Delusion

Devanagari script

कमुपायं हरे कुर्यां दासोऽहं ते तमादिश । येन पापकुलं नश्येन्निरयो न भवेन्मम

Transliteration

kamupāyaṃ hare kuryāṃ dāso'haṃ te tamādiśa | yena pāpakulaṃ naśyennirayo na bhavenmama

Translation

“O Lord Hari, what means should I adopt? I am Your servant—please instruct me in that path by which the entire lineage of my sins may be destroyed, and hell may not befall me.”

Word by Word

• kam: what/which
• kam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; interrogative pronoun

• upāyam: means/remedy
• upāyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• hare: O Hari
• hare: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana, Ekavacana

• kuryām: should I do
• kuryām: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: Vidhiliṅ-lakāra (Optative/विधिलिङ्), Uttama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; Parasmaipada

• dāsas: servant
• dāsas: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Prathamā, Ekavacana; 1st person pronoun

• te: your/of you
• te: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad/tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ṣaṣṭhī (Genitive/षष्ठी) or Caturthī (Dative/चतुर्थी), Ekavacana; here genitive ‘of you/your’

• tam: that (means)
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; pronoun

• ādiśa: command/tell
• ādiśa: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √diś (दिश् धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (Imperative), Madhyama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; Parasmaipada

• yena: by which
• yena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/napuṃsaka, Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana; relative pronoun

• pāpa-kulam: the family/aggregate of sins
• pāpa-kulam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa (pāpānāṃ kulam)

• naśyet: may perish
• naśyet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √naś (नश् धातु)
• Form: Vidhiliṅ-lakāra (Optative), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person/प्रथम), Ekavacana; Parasmaipada

• nirayas: hell
• nirayas: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Pratiṣedha-nipāta (negation particle/प्रतिषेध)

• bhavet: may be
• bhavet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: Vidhiliṅ-lakāra (Optative), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; Parasmaipada

• mama: for me/of me
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ṣaṣṭhī (Genitive), Ekavacana; 1st person pronoun

Speaker

A devotee/supplicant addressing Lord Hari (Vishnu), as narrated within the Rudrasaṃhitā context

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu (Hari)

FAQs

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

It expresses śaraṇāgati (surrender): the soul admits helplessness before bondage (pāpa and fear of naraka) and seeks a divinely given upāya—pointing toward grace and right practice as the means to dissolve pāśa and move toward liberation.

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

Though addressed to Hari, the Rudrasaṃhitā frames purification and liberation as fulfilled through devotion and divinely taught discipline—commonly resolved in the Shiva Purana through Saguna Shiva worship (Liṅga, mantra, and vrata) as an accessible upāya for destroying pāpa and turning the mind toward the Supreme.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The verse asks for an upāya; in Shiva Purana practice this is typically answered by mantra-japa (especially Pañcākṣarī), Liṅga-pūjā with bhasma/Tripuṇḍra, and vrata observances (e.g., Mahāśivarātri) aimed at purification and steadfast bhakti.