Shloka 6

पानीयदान-प्रपादान-वापीकूपतडाग-निर्माण-प्रशंसा

Praise of Water-Gift and the Construction of Wells and Tanks

Devanagari script

निदाघकाले पानीयं यस्य तिष्ठत्यवारितम् । सुदुर्गं विषमं कृच्छ्रं न कदाचिदवाप्यते

Transliteration

nidāghakāle pānīyaṃ yasya tiṣṭhatyavāritam | sudurgaṃ viṣamaṃ kṛcchraṃ na kadācidavāpyate

Translation

For one who, in the heat of summer, keeps drinking-water available for others without obstruction, the hard-to-cross, uneven, and grievous path of suffering is never attained at any time.

Word by Word

• nidāgha-kāle: in the summer time
• nidāgha-kāle: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nidāgha (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Saptamī (7th/सप्तमी), Ekavacana (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: nidāghasya kālaḥ → nidāgha-kāla; locative of time

• pānīyam: drinking water
• pānīyam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pānīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन)

• yasya: of whom/whose
• yasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Ṣaṣṭhī (6th/षष्ठी), Ekavacana (एकवचन)

• tiṣṭhati: stands; remains
• tiṣṭhati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्, Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd/प्रथम), Ekavacana (एकवचन); parasmaipada

• avāritam: unobstructed; not prevented
• avāritam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-vārita (प्रातिपदिक) [PPP of √vṛ (वारयति) with negation a-]
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); viśeṣaṇa of pānīyam

• su-durgam: very difficult (place/state)
• su-durgam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + durga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); karmadhāraya: su + durga = 'very difficult'

• viṣamam: uneven; hard
• viṣamam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viṣama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); coordinate adjective to sudurgam

• kṛcchram: distressful; arduous
• kṛcchram: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛcchra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); coordinate adjective

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Niṣedha-avyaya (निषेध-अव्यय, negation particle)

• kadācit: ever; at any time
• kadācit: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kadācit (अव्यय)
• Form: Kāla-avyaya (काल-अव्यय, adverb of time)

• avāpyate: is obtained; is reached
• avāpyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु) with ava- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्, Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd/प्रथम), Ekavacana (एकवचन); ātmanepada/passive sense (कर्मणि प्रयोग)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: General teaching: providing water in nidāgha (summer) prevents attainment of ‘durga/viṣama/kṛcchra’—a metaphor for naraka-like suffering or difficult transmigratory paths.

Significance: Summer water charity is a classic ‘nitya-dāna’; it supports pilgrims and reduces future suffering, aligning with purāṇic soteriology.

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that compassionate service—especially relieving thirst in extreme heat—purifies karma and protects one from severe suffering, aligning the soul (paśu) toward Shiva’s grace through dharmic action.

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

In Shaiva practice, serving living beings is treated as service to Saguna Shiva present in all; offering water outwardly complements offering water to the Shiva-linga (jala-abhisheka) inwardly as an act of devotion and reverence.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Maintain a public water-pot or water distribution (pānīya-dāna), and mentally dedicate the act to Shiva while repeating the Panchakshara mantra, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” as a simple daily vrata-like discipline.