Shloka 11

नन्दिकेशावतारवर्णनम् (Nandikeśa Avatāra Varṇanam) — “Account of the Descent/Origin of Nandikeśvara”

Devanagari script

न दास्यामि सुतं तेऽहं मृत्युहीनमयोनिजम् । हरिर्विधिश्च भगवान्किमुतान्यो महामुने

Transliteration

na dāsyāmi sutaṃ te'haṃ mṛtyuhīnamayonijam | harirvidhiśca bhagavānkimutānyo mahāmune

Translation

I shall not grant you a son who is deathless and not born of a womb. Even Bhagavān Hari and Bhagavān Vidhi (Brahmā) are not beyond this—what then of anyone else, O great sage?

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), negation particle (निषेध)

• dāsyāmi: I will give
• dāsyāmi: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (दा धातु)
• Form: Future (लृट्), 1st person (उत्तमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• sutam: a son
• sutam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suta (सुत प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (युष्मद् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun; Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun; Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• mṛtyu-hīnam: deathless
• mṛtyu-hīnam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛtyu + hīna (मृत्यु + हीन प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa ‘devoid of death/immortal’

• a-yonijam: not womb-born
• a-yonijam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a + yonija (अ + योनिज प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); privative a- (नञ्)

• hariḥ: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• hariḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (हरि प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• vidhiḥ: Vidhī (Brahmā)
• vidhiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhi (विधि प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चय)

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (भगवत् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• kim: what (then)
• kim: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/idiom marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (किम् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Interrogative particle used idiomatically in ‘kim uta’; Avyaya-like usage (प्रश्नार्थक निपात)

• uta: indeed/then (in ‘much less’)
• uta: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/idiom marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: uta (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle in idiom ‘kim uta’ (किमुत = much less/what to say of)

• anyaḥ: another (person)
• anyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (अन्य प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• mahā-mune: O great sage
• mahā-mune: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + muni (महा + मुनि प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन); karmadhāraya ‘great sage’

Speaker

Lord Shiva

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahadeva

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Vishnu
• Brahma

FAQs

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

The verse teaches that within the manifested cosmos, even exalted beings remain subject to the order of time and karmic law; true transcendence of death belongs to liberation granted by Shiva’s grace, not merely to a worldly boon.

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

It directs the seeker away from bargaining for impossible worldly immortality and toward devotion to Saguna Shiva (Linga-worship) as the compassionate Lord who bestows right fruits—protection, purification, and ultimately moksha.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Practice steady Shiva-bhakti through Panchakshara japa ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") and Linga-upāsanā, cultivating detachment from boon-seeking and focusing on inner purification leading toward liberation.