Shloka 9

Sarasvatī-avatāra-prasaṅgaḥ

Account of Sarasvatī’s Manifestation and the Humbling of the Devas

Devanagari script

किमिदं किमिदं चेति रुद्धकण्ठास्समब्रुवन । अजानन्तः परं श्यामानु भावं मानभञ्जनम्

Transliteration

kimidaṃ kimidaṃ ceti ruddhakaṇṭhāssamabruvana | ajānantaḥ paraṃ śyāmānu bhāvaṃ mānabhañjanam

Translation

Choked in their throats, they cried again and again, “What is this, what is this?”—for they did not comprehend the supreme, dark and mysterious majesty of Śyāmā, the Shatterer of pride.

Word by Word

• kim: what?
• kim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन); interrogative used exclamatorily

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन)

• kim: what?
• kim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन)

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय)

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyārtha-marker (उद्धरण/वाक्यार्थ-चिह्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति-निपात)

• ruddha-kaṇṭhāḥ: with choked throats
• ruddha-kaṇṭhāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ruddha (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-प्राय) + kaṇṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); बहुव्रीहिः: 'whose throats were choked/blocked'

• samabruvan: they spoke
• samabruvan: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-brū (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect/लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• ajānantaḥ: not knowing
• ajānantaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: a-jñā (धातु)
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ/वर्तमानकृदन्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• param: supreme, transcendent
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुंसक), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); qualifies bhāvam

• śyāma-anu-bhāvam: the power/majesty of Śyāma
• śyāma-anu-bhāvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śyāma (प्रातिपदिक) + anu-bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: 'the (mysterious) power/majesty of Śyāma (the dark one)'

• māna-bhañjanam: pride-destroying
• māna-bhañjanam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: māna (प्रातिपदिक) + bhañjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used as epithet qualifying bhāvam/anu-bhāvam

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the episode to the sages in the Shiva Purana’s Uma Samhita context)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Liṅgodbhava

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: The devas’ repeated ‘kim idam?’ dramatizes the incapacity of limited powers to cognize the Supreme without grace; the ‘dark/ineffable’ majesty (śyāmā-anubhāva) functions as a pride-breaking revelation rather than a local tīrtha origin.

Significance: Pilgrimage-lesson: astonishment and not-knowing (ajñāna recognized) becomes the doorway to anugraha; ego (māna) is the real obstacle, not lack of power.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: liberating

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Cognitive rupture: devas encounter a form/power beyond prior perception, triggering awe and fear mixed with humility.

Characters & Entities

• Parvati

FAQs

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

It shows how divine śakti can overwhelm ordinary perception: when ego and mental grasping dominate, the supreme reality is felt as awe and incomprehensibility; Śyāmā’s “pride-breaking” grace humbles the jīva toward surrender.

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

In Shaiva understanding, Śiva is Pati and Śakti is His inseparable power; devotion to the Liṅga (Saguna Śiva) ripens when one also recognizes the transforming grace of Śakti that dissolves māna (ego), making worship inwardly effective.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is humility-based japa—especially the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—offered with repentance for pride, along with simple Śiva-pūjā (bhasma/Tripuṇḍra and Rudrākṣa if one is initiated), aiming at ego-reduction rather than display.