Shloka 51

Devanagari script

तत्र ये पातकिनरास्तेषां शास्ता त्वमेव हि । शुभाशुभं च तत्कर्म चित्रगुप्तो लिखिष्यति

Transliteration

tatra ye pātakinarāsteṣāṃ śāstā tvameva hi | śubhāśubhaṃ ca tatkarma citragupto likhiṣyati

Translation

There, for those who are sinners, You alone are truly the Judge. And Chitragupta will record that very karma of theirs—both auspicious and inauspicious.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: कर्ता (Karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक सापेक्ष-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• पातकिनराः: sinners
• पातकिनराः: कर्ता (Karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातकिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• शास्ता: the punisher/judge
• शास्ता: कर्ता (Karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शास् (धातु) + तृ (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय) → शास्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक नाम (agent noun: punisher/ruler)

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: कर्ता (Karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• एव: alone/indeed
• एव: सम्बन्ध (Particle/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: सम्बन्ध (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थक/निश्चयार्थक निपात (particle: for/indeed)

• शुभ-अशुभम्: good and bad (deeds)
• शुभ-अशुभम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक) + अशुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (copulative)

• च: and
• च: सम्बन्ध (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• तत्-कर्म: that deed
• तत्-कर्म: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (that person’s deed / that deed)

• चित्रगुप्तः: Chitragupta
• चित्रगुप्तः: कर्ता (Karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्रगुप्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; व्यक्तिनाम (proper noun)

• लिखिष्यति: will write/record
• लिखिष्यति: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लिख् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Purana to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha

Sthala Purana: In the Kāśī/Yama narrative, karmic accounting (Citragupta) and judgment (Yama) are affirmed, yet Kāśī remains exceptional as Śiva’s mokṣa-kṣetra where ordinary bondage can be transcended by grace.

Significance: Highlights the moral-ritual seriousness of Kāśī: pilgrimage is not license for sin; karmic record persists, while sincere devotion and Śiva’s anugraha are decisive for release.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Chitragupta

FAQs

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

It affirms Shiva as the ultimate moral governor: karma is precisely accounted for (through Chitragupta), yet final judgement and dispensation rest with Shiva as Pati, the supreme Lord who upholds dharma and grants liberation.

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

By presenting Shiva as the living, personal Lord who judges and guides beings, it supports Saguna devotion—worship of the Linga as Shiva’s accessible form—through which the devotee seeks purification of karma and refuge in the Lord’s grace.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Regular karma-review and repentance supported by Shiva-upasana—japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), wearing rudraksha, and applying tripundra (bhasma)—as disciplines for purification and right conduct.