Shloka 35

शारभावतारवर्णनम्

Account of Śiva’s Śārabha Manifestation and the Measureless Avatāras

Devanagari script

रक्षिताः स्म तदा नाथ नीलकण्ठ इति श्रुतः । विषं पास्यसि नो चेत्त्वं भस्मीभूतास्तदाखिलाः

Transliteration

rakṣitāḥ sma tadā nātha nīlakaṇṭha iti śrutaḥ | viṣaṃ pāsyasi no cettvaṃ bhasmībhūtāstadākhilāḥ

Translation

“O Lord, then we were protected—hence You are renowned as Nīlakaṇṭha (the Blue-throated One). If You do not drink this poison, all of us will at once be reduced to ashes.”

Word by Word

• rakṣitāḥ: (we) were protected
• rakṣitāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rakṣ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मणि: ‘were protected’

• sma: indeed/then (past marker)
• sma: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sma (अव्यय)
• Form: स्म-निपातः (particle indicating past recollection/emphasis)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय

• nātha: O Lord
• nātha: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• nīla-kaṇṭhaḥ: Blue-throated (Śiva)
• nīla-kaṇṭhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nīla (प्रातिपदिक) + kaṇṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (nīlaḥ kaṇṭhaḥ)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इत्यर्थक अव्यय (quotative)

• śrutaḥ: was renowned (as)
• śrutaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि: ‘was heard/was known as’

• viṣam: poison
• viṣam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• pāsyasi: you will drink
• pāsyasi: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pā (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• naḥ: of us; our
• naḥ: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; ‘our’

• cet: if
• cet: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/condition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cet (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक अव्यय (conditional particle: ‘if’)

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

• bhasmī-bhūtāḥ: having become ashes
• bhasmī-bhūtāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhasmī (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + bhū (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP) ‘भूत’, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अव्ययीभावसमासः (bhasmī-bhūta = ‘having become ash’)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय

• akhilāḥ: all (of us)
• akhilāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akhila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (rakṣitāḥ इत्यस्य/वयं इत्यर्थे)

Speaker

The devas (gods) appealing to Lord Shiva

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Nīlakaṇṭha

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It praises Śiva as the compassionate Pati (Lord) who absorbs the world-threatening poison into Himself, showing that divine grace protects all beings and that the Supreme can transmute विष (poison) into auspiciousness without being overcome by it.

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

The verse points to Saguna Śiva—worshipped as the Linga and as Nīlakaṇṭha—whose visible, personal act of protection becomes a basis for devotion (bhakti), gratitude, and surrender in Shiva-puja and linga-archana.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Śiva as Nīlakaṇṭha while chanting the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), and adopt Shaiva purity practices such as Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as reminders that Śiva burns impurities and protects the devotee.