Shloka 14

Devanagari script

यथैव मरणाद्भीतिरस्मदादिवपुष्मताम् । ब्रह्मादिकीटकांतानां तथा मरणतो भयम्

Transliteration

yathaiva maraṇādbhītirasmadādivapuṣmatām | brahmādikīṭakāṃtānāṃ tathā maraṇato bhayam

Translation

Just as fear of death exists among embodied beings like ourselves, so too—from Brahmā down to the tiniest insect—there is fear arising from death.

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunctive adverb/समुच्चय), उपमानार्थे (as/just as)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphatic particle/निपात)

• मरणात्: from death
• मरणात्: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), पञ्चमी (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• भीतिः: fear
• भीतिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• अस्मद्-आदि-वपुष्मताम्: of embodied beings like us
• अस्मद्-आदि-वपुष्मताम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + वपुष्मत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural); तत्पुरुष: अस्मदादयः वपुष्मन्तः (embodied beings like us)

• ब्रह्म-आदि-कीटक-अन्तानाम्: of those from Brahmā down to insects
• ब्रह्म-आदि-कीटक-अन्तानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक) + कीटक (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine/collective), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural); तत्पुरुष: ब्रह्मादयः ... कीटकान्ताः (from Brahmā down to insects)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘so/likewise’

• मरणतः: from death
• मरणतः: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), पञ्चमी (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular); ‘-तः’ ablatival usage

• भयम्: fear
• भयम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the Lord of Time who subdues fear of death; the jyotirliṅga is revered as granting victory over mṛtyu-bhaya through Śiva-bhakti and surrender (general jyotirliṅga theology; not explicitly narrated in this verse).

Significance: Darśana is sought for relief from fear of death, protection from untimely death, and deepening vairāgya through awareness of kāla.

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: oṃ tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam | urvārukamiva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya mā'mṛtāt ||

Type: mahamrityunjaya

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Brahma

FAQs

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

It emphasizes the universality of mortality-fear across all embodied ranks, prompting vairāgya (dispassion) and the Shaiva insight that true fearlessness comes by taking refuge in Pati (Lord Shiva), who transcends death.

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

By highlighting that even exalted beings remain bound to death as long as they are embodied, the verse supports turning to Saguna Shiva—worshipped as the Linga—as the compassionate Lord who grants protection (abhaya) and leads the soul beyond bondage.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Cultivate death-awareness (maraṇa-smṛti) alongside steady japa of the Panchākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” praying for Shiva’s abhaya and detachment from perishable identifications.