Shloka 30

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

Embryonic Condition, Bodily Transformation, and Instruction in Detachment

Devanagari script

यथा गिरिवराक्रांतः कश्चिद्दुःखेन तिष्ठति । तथा जरायुणा देही दुःखं तिष्ठति वेष्टितः

Transliteration

yathā girivarākrāṃtaḥ kaścidduḥkhena tiṣṭhati | tathā jarāyuṇā dehī duḥkhaṃ tiṣṭhati veṣṭitaḥ

Translation

Just as someone crushed beneath a mighty mountain stands only in misery, so too the embodied soul, wrapped in the fetal membrane (jarāyu), remains in suffering.

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Upamana-dyotaka (उपमानद्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक अव्यय (comparative particle)

• गिरिवराक्रान्तः: overpowered by a great mountain
• गिरिवराक्रान्तः: Visheshana (विशेषण of कश्चित्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गिरिवर + आक्रान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (गिरिवरेण आक्रान्तः)

• कश्चित्: someone
• कश्चित्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक (indefinite pronoun)

• दुःखेन: with pain; painfully
• दुःखेन: Karana (करण/Instrument; manner)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणभावे

• तिष्ठति: stands; remains
• तिष्ठति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तथा: so; likewise
• तथा: Upameya-dyotaka (उपमेयद्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: तथाशब्दः; अव्यय; उपमेयपक्षे (correlative adverb)

• जरायुणा: by the amniotic membrane (jarāyu)
• जरायुणा: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरायु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• देही: the embodied being
• देही: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देहिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• दुःखम्: pain; suffering
• दुःखम्: Karma (कर्म/Object/experience)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तिष्ठति: remains
• तिष्ठति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• वेष्टितः: wrapped; enclosed
• वेष्टितः: Visheshana (विशेषण of देही)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वेष्ट् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Shiva

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It depicts the jīva (pashu) as helplessly bound by coverings and karma (pāśa), showing that embodied life is intrinsically mixed with duḥkha until one turns toward Pati (Shiva) for liberation.

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

By emphasizing bondage and suffering in embodiment, it motivates refuge in Saguna Shiva—worship of the Shiva-Linga, devotion, and remembrance—through which Shiva’s grace loosens pāśa and leads the soul toward release.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Cultivate vairāgya and practice Shiva-upāsanā—japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” with steady meditation on Shiva as Pati who frees the bound soul.