Shloka 38

Kāla-vañcana (Overcoming/Outwitting Time) and the Pañcabhūta Basis of the Body

Devanagari script

अनाहतमनुच्चार्य्यं शब्दब्रह्म शिवं परम् । ध्यायन्ते देवि सततं सुधिया यत्नतः प्रिये

Transliteration

anāhatamanuccāryyaṃ śabdabrahma śivaṃ param | dhyāyante devi satataṃ sudhiyā yatnataḥ priye

Translation

O Devī, the wise, with steadfast effort, continually meditate on the Supreme Śiva—who is the unstruck inner sound (anāhata), the unuttered reality, and the Śabda-Brahman, Brahman as sacred Word.

Word by Word

• anāhatam: unstruck, unproduced (unmanifest)
• anāhatam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anāhata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used adjectivally qualifying śabdabrahma

• anuccāryam: not to be uttered / unpronounceable
• anuccāryam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuccārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used adjectivally qualifying śabdabrahma

• śabdabrahma: Sound-Brahman (the Absolute as sound)
• śabdabrahma: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śabda + brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/निर्धारण: 'Brahman in the form of sound'

• śivam: Śiva
• śivam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); apposition to śabdabrahma

• param: supreme
• param: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pumliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); qualifying śivam/śabdabrahma

• dhyāyante: they meditate
• dhyāyante: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhyai (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (लट्, Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person/प्रथमपुरुष), Bahuvacana (plural/बहुवचन); Ātmanepada

• devi: O Goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (संबोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Sambodhana (Vocative/संबोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• satataṃ: always, continually
• satataṃ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satata (प्रातिपदिक used adverbially)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• sudhiyā: with good intellect / by wise understanding
• sudhiyā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sudhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• yatnataḥ: with effort, diligently
• yatnataḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverbial ablatival form in -tas (तस्) meaning 'with effort'

• priye: O beloved
• priye: Sambodhana (संबोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Sambodhana (Vocative/संबोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Lord Shiva

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Parvati

FAQs

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

It teaches that the highest contemplation is on Śiva as the transcendental reality experienced inwardly as anāhata (unstruck) nāda—beyond ordinary speech—showing that liberation is approached through sustained dhyāna guided by purified intellect.

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

While Liṅga worship supports saguna upāsanā (worship with form), this verse points to the inner culmination: meditating on Śiva as śabda-brahman and the unuttered source of mantra—moving from external symbol to internal realization of Pati (Śiva).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Regular dhyāna on Śiva through mantra-based contemplation that refines into listening to inner nāda (anāhata), practiced with steadiness and effort—especially alongside Shaiva disciplines like japa and focused meditation.