Shloka 18

Gṛhapati’s Vow: Turning Grief into Mṛtyuñjaya–Mahākāla Sādhana (गृहपतेः प्रतिज्ञा—मृत्युंजय-महाकालजपः)

Devanagari script

य एकेषु निपातोत्थज्वलनैस्त्रिपुरम्पुरा । त्रैलोक्यैश्वर्यसम्मूढं शोषयामास भानुना

Transliteration

ya ekeṣu nipātotthajvalanaistripurampurā | trailokyaiśvaryasammūḍhaṃ śoṣayāmāsa bhānunā

Translation

He who, in ages past, dried up Tripura with a sun-like blaze born of the impact of His power, while Tripura stood deluded by the lordship and splendour of the three worlds.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचकः सापेक्ष-प्रयोगः (relative pronoun)

• ekeṣu: among some / in certain (ones)
• ekeṣu: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; ‘केषु?’ इति अधिकरणे

• nipāta-uttha-jvalanaiḥ: by the flames arisen from the fall
• nipāta-uttha-jvalanaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nipāta (प्रातिपदिक) + uttha (कृदन्त; उत्√स्था) + jvalana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; समासः—निपातात् उत्थं ज्वलनम् (ablative-tatpuruṣa)

• tripuram: Tripura (the three cities)
• tripuram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tripura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• trailokya-aiśvarya-sammūḍham: deluded by the sovereignty of the three worlds
• trailokya-aiśvarya-sammūḍham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: trailokya (प्रातिपदिक) + aiśvarya (प्रातिपदिक) + sammūḍha (कृदन्त; सम्√मुह्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—त्रैलोक्यस्य ऐश्वर्येण सम्मूढम् (instrumental/hetu-tatpuruṣa sense)

• śoṣayāmāsa: caused to dry up / dried up
• śoṣayāmāsa: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śuṣ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोगः (causative)

• bhānunā: by the sun
• bhānunā: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhānu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Tripurāntaka

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Tripura-dahana: Śiva annihilates the triple citadels when their adharmic power ripens; here emphasized as a single decisive act with sun-like blaze.

Significance: Removes ‘tripura’ within—threefold impurities/limitations; grants clarity and dispassion toward borrowed sovereignty (aiśvarya).

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Role: destructive

Ritual Elements

Offering: dhupa

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: mythic conflagration akin to solar/pralaya imagery (bhānu-jvalana)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Tripura

FAQs

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

Tripura symbolizes the soul’s triple entanglement—ego, karmic momentum, and delusive enjoyership. Shiva’s sun-like blaze “dries up” this bondage, showing that divine grace and knowledge can wither attachment and pride rooted in worldly sovereignty.

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

The verse praises Shiva as Saguna—the Lord whose manifest power acts in history as Tripurāntaka. Linga-worship trains the devotee to see that the same Supreme (Pati) who is beyond form also appears with form to remove delusion and grant liberation.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as inner Bhānu (sun of consciousness) who dries up desire; repeat the Panchakshara “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrāksha as reminders that all pride and impurity are to be burned by Shiva’s grace.