Shloka 27
नरकयातनावर्णनम् / Description of Hell-Torments for Specific Transgressions
नरकेषु च सर्वेषु विचित्रा देहयातनाः । भवंति बहुशः कष्टाः पाणिपादसमुद्भवाः
narakeṣu ca sarveṣu vicitrā dehayātanāḥ | bhavaṃti bahuśaḥ kaṣṭāḥ pāṇipādasamudbhavāḥ
In all the hell-realms, manifold torments of the body arise again and again—painful sufferings that spring from one’s very hands and feet (that is, from one’s own deeds).
Suta Goswami (narrating the Shiva Purana’s teaching to the sages at Naimisharanya, conveying Uma-samhita doctrine on karma and bondage)
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
It teaches that suffering is not random: painful experiences in naraka are karmically generated—‘born of the hands and feet’—meaning one’s own intentional actions return as embodied consequences. In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, this is pasha (bondage) operating through karma until grace and right practice turn the soul toward Pati (Shiva).
By highlighting karmic retribution, the verse implicitly directs the seeker to Saguna Shiva worship—Linga-puja, devotion, and ethical living—as remedial means to purify karma and soften bondage, making the mind fit for Shiva’s anugraha (grace) that leads beyond fear of naraka.
Karmic purification is supported by Panchakshara japa (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), confession and restraint (yama-like discipline), and regular Shiva worship with bhasma (Tripundra) and rudraksha as aids to remembrance and inner purification.