Shloka 3

Svagati-varṇana

Description of the Supreme State / One’s True Attainment

Devanagari script

अथोमासंहितान्तःस्थ नानाख्यानसमन्वितम् । ब्रूहि शंभोश्चरित्रं वै साम्बस्य परमात्मनः

Transliteration

athomāsaṃhitāntaḥstha nānākhyānasamanvitam | brūhi śaṃbhoścaritraṃ vai sāmbasya paramātmanaḥ

Translation

Now, please narrate to us the sacred account of Śambhu—Sāmba, the Supreme Self—rich with many episodes and preserved within the Umā-saṃhitā.

Word by Word

• atha: now
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/discourse)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; discourse particle (now/then)

• umā-saṃhitā-antaḥ-stha: O one situated within the Umā-saṃhitā (i.e., versed in it)
• umā-saṃhitā-antaḥ-stha: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: umā (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃhitā (प्रातिपदिक) + antaḥ (अव्यय/उपपद) + stha (कृदन्त; √sthā/स्था)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; कृदन्तः—स्थ (present participial adjective) ‘स्थितः’ अर्थे; ‘उमासंहितायाम् अन्तः स्थितः’

• nānā-ākhyāna-samanvitam: endowed with various narratives
• nānā-ākhyāna-samanvitam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + ākhyāna (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (कृदन्त; √anv-i/अन्वि)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः; भूतकृदन्त (PPP) ‘समन्वित’ = endowed with

• brūhi: tell
• brūhi: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śaṃbhoḥ: of Śambhu (Śiva)
• śaṃbhoḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śambhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (genitive singular)

• caritram: deeds, life-story
• caritram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caritra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; emphatic particle (eva-artha)

• sāmbasya: of Sāmba
• sāmbasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāmba (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• parama-ātmanaḥ: of the Supreme Self
• parama-ātmanaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (परमः आत्मा)

Speaker

Sages at Naimiṣāraṇya (addressing Sūta Gosvāmin)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Umāpati

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Programmatic request rather than a site legend: the sages ask for Śambhu’s caritra as Sāmba (Śiva-with-Umā), indicating that forthcoming narratives will be Umāsaṃhitā-contained and multi-episodic.

Significance: Positions Sāmba (Śiva united with Umā) as the Supreme Self (paramātman); hearing such caritra is implied to be a means toward right orientation and grace.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Umā

Role: nurturing

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Parvati

FAQs

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

The verse frames Śiva’s “caritra” as a sacred, multi-episode teaching meant to reveal Śambhu as Sāmba—the Supreme Self—so that devotion and right understanding mature toward liberation.

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

By requesting the “caritra” of Śambhu/Sāmba, it directs the mind to Saguna Śiva—Śiva with Umā—whose approachable form and deeds support devotion that culminates in realizing Him as Paramātman (the inner Lord).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The practical takeaway is śravaṇa (devotional listening) and smaraṇa (remembrance) of Śiva’s līlā; this is commonly paired with japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” while contemplating Śiva as the indwelling Paramātman.