Shloka 32

Arjuna’s Mantra-Empowerment and the Pāṇḍavas’ Separation (Śiva-rūpa through Mantra)

Devanagari script

पुनश्च पार्थिवं कृत्वा सुन्दरं समसूत्रकम् । तदग्रे प्रणिदध्यौ स तेजोराशिमनुत्तमम्

Transliteration

punaśca pārthivaṃ kṛtvā sundaraṃ samasūtrakam | tadagre praṇidadhyau sa tejorāśimanuttamam

Translation

Then again, having fashioned a beautiful earthen emblem, well-proportioned and evenly formed, he fixed his awareness before it and meditated upon the unsurpassed mass of divine radiance—the supreme Light of Lord Śiva.

Word by Word

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (again)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• pārthivam: an earthen (object)
• pārthivam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārthiva (पार्थिव, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; object of kṛtvā (‘something made of earth’)

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा), ‘having made’

• sundaram: beautiful
• sundaram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sundara (सुन्दर, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; qualifying pārthivam

• sama-sūtrakam: having even cords/threads
• sama-sūtrakam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक) + sūtraka (सूत्रक, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; ‘with even threads/cords’ qualifying pārthivam

• tad-agre: before it
• tad-agre: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular; ‘in front of that’

• praṇidadhyau: he fixed/placed (his attention)
• praṇidadhyau: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhā (धातु) + pra-ni- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: Liṭ (लिट्/perfect), Parasmaipada, 3rd Person, Singular; (from praṇi-dhā) ‘he placed/fixed (his mind)’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; pronoun

• tejo-rāśim: a mass of radiance
• tejo-rāśim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tejas (प्रातिपदिक) + rāśi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; object (focus) of praṇidadhyau

• anuttamam: unsurpassed
• anuttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuttama (अनुत्तम, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; qualifying tejo-rāśim

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the account to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Liṅgodbhava

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: The verse depicts a clay (pārthiva) liṅga made for worship and meditation on Śiva as tejas (supreme Light), a motif that underlies many liṅga-origin narratives but is not tied here to a specific Jyotirliṅga site.

Significance: Highlights the merit of pārthiva-liṅga worship and dhyāna on Śiva’s jyotis as a direct means to purification and grace.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that disciplined worship (forming a pārthiva-liṅga) culminates in steady meditation on Śiva’s supreme Tejas—moving from outer act to inner realization of Pati, the liberator.

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

The earthen form is a saguna support for devotion and concentration; through it, the devotee contemplates the deeper nirguna truth indicated here as the ‘unsurpassed mass of radiance’ (tejorāśi).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Create a well-formed pārthiva-liṅga as a focus of pūjā, then practice dhyāna by placing the mind steadily before it—ideally with japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) while contemplating Śiva as pure Light.