Shloka 5

नरकयातनावर्णनम् / Description of Hell-Torments for Specific Transgressions

Devanagari script

पेचिरे विविधैर्घेरैरिक्षुयंत्रादिपीडनैः । निरयाग्निषु पच्यंते यावदाभूतसंप्लवम्

Transliteration

pecire vividhairgherairikṣuyaṃtrādipīḍanaiḥ | nirayāgniṣu pacyaṃte yāvadābhūtasaṃplavam

Translation

They are crushed by many dreadful torments—such as being pressed in sugarcane-press machines and other instruments of pain. They are roasted in the fires of hell, enduring it until the cosmic dissolution of beings.

Word by Word

• pecire: were cooked
• pecire: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pac (पच् धातु)
• Form: Verb (तिङन्त): Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष) Plural (बहुवचन), Ātmanepada; ‘they were cooked/they cooked (intrans. passive sense)’

• vividhaiḥ: by various
• vividhaiḥ: Karaṇa (करणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vividha (विविध प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (तृतीया) Plural (बहुवचन); विशेषणम् (gheraiḥ / pīḍanaiḥ)

• gheraiḥ: by ‘ghera’ tortures/implements
• gheraiḥ: Karaṇa (करणम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghera (घेर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया) Plural (बहुवचन); दण्ड/यन्त्रणाविशेषः (contextual)

• ikṣu-yantra-ādi-pīḍanaiḥ: by crushings such as sugarcane-presses
• ikṣu-yantra-ādi-pīḍanaiḥ: Karaṇa (करणम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ikṣu + yantra + ādi + pīḍana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया) Plural (बहुवचन); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (इक्षुयन्त्रादीनि पīḍanāni)

• niraya-agniṣu: in the fires of hell
• niraya-agniṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरणम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niraya + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी) Plural (बहुवचन); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (निरयस्य अग्नयः)

• pacyante: are cooked
• pacyante: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pac (पच् धातु)
• Form: Verb (तिङन्त): Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष) Plural (बहुवचन), Passive (कर्मणि-प्रयोगः), Ātmanepada; ‘are cooked’

• yāvat: until
• yāvat: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरणम्)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), temporal limit marker (यावत्—‘until/as long as’)

• ābhūta-saṃplavam: up to the cosmic dissolution
• ābhūta-saṃplavam: Kāla-avadhi (कालावधिः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ā + bhūta + saṃplava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन); अव्ययीभावः—‘आ’ (up to) + ‘भूतसंप्लव’ (cosmic dissolution) used adverbially with yāvat

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Mahākāla is the Lord of Time who subdues death; the verse’s ‘nirayāgni’ and ‘ābhūta-saṃplava’ imagery resonates with Mahākāla’s governance over karmic retribution across cosmic cycles (pralaya).

Significance: Remembrance of Mahākāla is held to cut fear of death and time, turning dread of punishment into urgency for dharma and Śiva-bhakti.

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: pralaya (ābhūta-saṃplava: dissolution affecting embodied beings)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It warns that pasha (bondage) formed by adharmic karma ripens into intense suffering; the verse urges turning toward Shiva (Pati) through dharma and devotion so the soul (pashu) is freed from karmic consequences.

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

By contrasting Naraka’s pain with the refuge of Shiva, it implicitly points to Saguna Shiva worship—Linga-puja, confession, and surrender—as practical means to purify karma and realign the soul with Shiva’s grace.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A clear takeaway is Shiva-japa—especially the Panchakshara “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—along with regular Linga worship (water/abhisheka) and sincere repentance to reduce sinful tendencies and strengthen liberation-oriented discipline.