Shloka 48

Kālajñāna (Knowledge of Time) and Mṛtyu-cihna (Signs of Death): Śiva’s Instruction to Umā

Devanagari script

सप्तविंशद्दिनमितं वहतेत्यतिविश्रमा । मासमेकं समाख्यातं जीवितं वामगोचरे

Transliteration

saptaviṃśaddinamitaṃ vahatetyativiśramā | māsamekaṃ samākhyātaṃ jīvitaṃ vāmagocare

Translation

“Even after bearing it for a measured span of twenty-seven days, she becomes exceedingly exhausted. In the left-side course (vāma-gocara), the life (span) is declared to be one month.”

Word by Word

• सप्तविंशत्: twenty-seven
• सप्तविंशत्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तविंशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; अव्ययवत्-प्रयोगः/विशेषणम्; (द्विगु-समासः: सप्त + विंशत् = 27)

• दिन-मितम्: measured in days
• दिन-मितम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक) + मित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √मा)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समासः—दिनैः मितम्/दिनपरिमितम् (तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थः); विशेषणम् (qualifies implied ‘कालम्/अवधिम्’)

• वहते: continues/lasts
• वहते: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वह् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• इति: thus
• इति: वाक्य-समाप्ति/उद्धरण (Quotative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/निगमनार्थक-अव्यय (quotative/thus)

• अति-विश्रमा: extreme fatigue
• अति-विश्रमा: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अति (उपसर्ग) + विश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; ‘अतिविश्रमा’ = अत्यन्त-विश्रान्तिः/अतिश्रमः (contextual)

• मासम्: a month
• मासम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• एकम्: one
• एकम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies ‘मासम्’)

• समाख्यातम्: is declared/called
• समाख्यातम्: विधेय (Predicate complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + ख्या (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम् (predicative)

• जीवितम्: life-span
• जीवितम्: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जीवित (प्रातिपदिक; √जीव्-निष्पन्न)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• वाम-गोचरे: in the left channel/realm (vāma-gocara)
• वाम-गोचरे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाम (प्रातिपदिक) + गोचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः—वामस्य गोचरः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Parvati

FAQs

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

It highlights the frailty and limitation of embodied existence—life and vitality are measured and finite—prompting vairāgya (dispassion) and turning the seeker toward Pati (Shiva), the only refuge beyond time and decay.

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

By stressing the instability of bodily life, the verse indirectly points to the need for steadfast devotion to Saguna Shiva (Linga-worship) as a tangible support, through which grace leads the bound soul from pasha (bondage) toward liberation.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is daily Panchākṣarī japa (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as reminders of impermanence and as Shaiva disciplines that orient the mind toward Shiva’s grace.