Shloka 62

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

Devanagari script

पंचदशप्रवाहेण नव मासान्स जीवति । चतुर्विशद्दिनान्येव कथितं कालवेदिभिः

Transliteration

paṃcadaśapravāheṇa nava māsānsa jīvati | caturviśaddinānyeva kathitaṃ kālavedibhiḥ

Translation

By a flow measured as “fifteen,” he lives for nine months; and the remaining term is declared by those who know the reckoning of time to be exactly twenty-four days.

Word by Word

• पञ्चदश-प्रवाहेण: by/with the fifteen-day flow
• पञ्चदश-प्रवाहेण: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चदश (संख्याप्रातिपदिक) + प्रवाह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/हेतुवाचक

• नव: nine
• नव: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्याविशेषण; ‘मासान्’ इति विशेष्ये

• मासान्: months
• मासान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• जीवति: lives
• जीवति: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जीव् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• चतुर्विंशत्-दिनानि: twenty-four days
• चतुर्विंशत्-दिनानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्विंशत् (संख्याप्रातिपदिक) + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• कथितम्: is said/has been stated
• कथितम्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि (क्त); कर्मणि प्रयोगः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कालवेदिभिः: by the knowers of time
• कालवेदिभिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक) + वेदिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कालं वेदन्ति); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Uma-saṃhitā discourse to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

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 highlights that embodied existence is bound by measurable time (kāla), reminding the seeker (paśu) that life’s duration is finite and governed by cosmic order—therefore one should turn to Shiva (Pati) for liberation beyond time.

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

By stressing time-bound embodiment, the verse indirectly points to Saguna Shiva worship (such as Linga-upāsanā) as a practical means for the time-bound soul to purify karma and progress toward realizing Shiva who transcends time.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A key takeaway is disciplined daily Shiva-sādhana—japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with steady meditation on Shiva as Kāla-transcendent—so one does not waste the limited span governed by time.