Shloka 54

पापभेदवर्णनम्

Classification of Sins / Taxonomy of Pāpa

Devanagari script

देवतिर्यङ्मनुष्याणामधर्मनिरतात्मनाम् । धर्मराजः स्मृतश्शास्ता सुघोरैर्विविधैर्वधैः

Transliteration

devatiryaṅmanuṣyāṇāmadharmaniratātmanām | dharmarājaḥ smṛtaśśāstā sughorairvividhairvadhaiḥ

Translation

For devas, animals, and human beings whose minds are absorbed in unrighteousness (adharma), Dharmarāja (Yama) is remembered as the chastiser, administering many kinds of exceedingly dreadful punishments.

Word by Word

• deva: gods
• deva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/compound-member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (देव प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine; member of compound

• tiryaṅ: animals
• tiryaṅ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/compound-member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tiryañc (तिर्यञ्च् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine; member of compound

• manuṣyāṇām: of gods, animals, and humans
• manuṣyāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitival)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuṣya (मनुष्य प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural; genitive of the dvandva ‘deva-tiryaṅ-manuṣya’

• adharma: unrighteousness
• adharma: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/compound-member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adharma (अधर्म प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine; member of compound

• nirata: engaged in
• nirata: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/compound-member)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nirata (निरत प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adjectival member of compound; ‘engaged in’

• ātmanām: of those devoted to unrighteousness
• ātmanām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitival)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (आत्मन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural; tatpuruṣa: adharma-nirata-ātman (those whose selves are engaged in adharma)

• dharmarājaḥ: Dharmarāja (Yama)
• dharmarājaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• smṛtaḥ: is remembered/considered
• smṛtaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया/predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (स्मृ धातु) → smṛta (कृदन्त)
• Form: Kridanta: past passive participle (क्त/PPP), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate with dharmarājaḥ

• śāstā: punisher
• śāstā: Karta (कर्ता/predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śās (शास् धातु) → śāstṛ (शास्तृ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; agent noun ‘punisher/ruler’

• su-ghoraiḥ: by very terrible
• su-ghoraiḥ: Karana (करण/instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; agrees with vadhaiḥ

• vividhaiḥ: various
• vividhaiḥ: Karana (करण/instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vividha (विविध प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; agrees with vadhaiḥ

• vadhaiḥ: punishments/executions
• vadhaiḥ: Karana (करण/instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vadha (वध प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Characters & Entities

• Dharmaraja (Yama)

FAQs

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

It affirms the moral order upheld by Dharma: when beings cling to adharma, they inevitably meet corrective consequences through Dharmaraja, urging the soul to return to righteous living and, ultimately, to Shiva-oriented liberation.

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

By contrasting the fate of adharma with the protection gained through dharma, it indirectly supports Saguna Shiva worship (Linga-puja) as a purifying discipline that aligns one’s life with dharma and reduces bondage (pāśa) created by karma.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is daily self-restraint and expiation through Shaiva practice—japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), sincere repentance, and dharmic conduct—so the mind turns from adharma toward Shiva.