Shloka 13

Garbha-sthiti, Deha-pariṇāma, and Vairāgya-upadeśa

Embryonic Condition, Bodily Transformation, and Instruction in Detachment

Devanagari script

मज्जाकारणवैकल्यं शुक्रं हि प्रसवात्मकम् । इति द्वादशधान्नस्य परिणामः प्रकीर्तिताः

Transliteration

majjākāraṇavaikalyaṃ śukraṃ hi prasavātmakam | iti dvādaśadhānnasya pariṇāmaḥ prakīrtitāḥ

Translation

Semen (śukra) is indeed reproductive in nature, and it arises as the transformation connected with marrow (majjā); thus the twelvefold transformation of food has been described.

Word by Word

• मज्जा-कारण-वैकल्यम्: defect due to marrow-cause
• मज्जा-कारण-वैकल्यम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मज्जा (प्रातिपदिक) + कारण (प्रातिपदिक) + वैकल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘मज्जा-कारणस्य वैकल्यम्’ (defect due to marrow as cause)

• शुक्रम्: semen
• शुक्रम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ

• प्रसव-आत्मकम्: having procreation as its nature
• प्रसव-आत्मकम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रसव (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘प्रसवः आत्मा यस्य’ (having procreation as its nature)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्त्यर्थक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• द्वादशधा: in twelvefold manner
• द्वादशधा: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: द्वादशधा (अव्यय)
• Form: संख्याविशेषण-प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (in twelve ways)

• अन्नस्य: of food
• अन्नस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• परिणामः: transformation/result
• परिणामः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिणाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन

• प्रकीर्तिताः: has been proclaimed
• प्रकीर्तिताः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + कीर्त् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; रूपं बहुवचनं—पाठभेद/सामान्यतः ‘प्रकीर्तितः’ अपेक्षितः ‘परिणामः’ इत्यनेन सह

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Shakti Dimension

Role: creative

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames the body’s generative power as a mere transformation of food and matter, guiding the seeker toward vairāgya (dispassion) and toward Pati—Lord Shiva—as the true refuge beyond bodily change.

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

By showing the body as mutable (pariṇāma), the text implicitly points to worship of Shiva—especially through the Linga—as the stable, transcendent Lord (Pati) who is not subject to such material transformations.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is mindful restraint and purity (brahmacarya/saṃyama) supported by Shiva-oriented japa—such as the Panchakshara mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—to redirect attention from bodily processes to Shiva-consciousness.