Shloka 56

पापभेदवर्णनम्

Classification of Sins / Taxonomy of Pāpa

Devanagari script

पारदारिकचौराणामन्यायव्यवहारिणाम् । नृपतिश्शासकः प्रोक्तः प्रच्छन्नानां स धर्म्मराट्

Transliteration

pāradārikacaurāṇāmanyāyavyavahāriṇām | nṛpatiśśāsakaḥ proktaḥ pracchannānāṃ sa dharmmarāṭ

Translation

For those who violate another’s wife, for thieves, and for people who deal in unjust ways, the king is declared the chastiser. By restraining such hidden wrongdoers, he is truly a sovereign of Dharma.

Word by Word

• pāradārika: adulterers
• pāradārika: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/compound-member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāra-dārika (पारदारिक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine; member of compound; ‘one who goes to another’s wife’ (para-dāra + ika)

• caurāṇām: of adulterers and thieves
• caurāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitival)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caura (चौर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural; genitive of dvandva ‘pāradārika-caurāṇām’

• anyāya: injustice
• anyāya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/compound-member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anyāya (अन्याय प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine; member of compound

• vyavahāriṇām: of unjust dealers (wrongdoers)
• vyavahāriṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitival)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyavahārin (व्यवहारिन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural; tatpuruṣa: anyāya-vyavahārin (those who act unjustly)

• nṛpatiḥ: the king
• nṛpatiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• śāsakaḥ: ruler/punisher
• śāsakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śās (शास् धातु) → śāsaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; appositional to nṛpatiḥ

• proktaḥ: is declared
• proktaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया/predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु) → prokta (कृदन्त)
• Form: Kridanta: past passive participle (क्त/PPP), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate ‘is said’

• pracchannānām: of the concealed (offenders)
• pracchannānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pracchanna (प्रच्छन्न प्रातिपदिक; PPP of √chad)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural; ‘of the hidden (ones)’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता/co-referent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; refers to nṛpatiḥ

• dharmarāṭ: Dharma-king (upholder of law)
• dharmarāṭ: Karta (कर्ता/predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma + rāṭ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; title/predicate nominative

Speaker

Lord Shiva (teaching Umā/Parvati on dharma and governance in the Umāsaṃhitā context)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Parvati

FAQs

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

The verse teaches that upholding dharma through just restraint of wrongdoing is itself a sacred duty; a ruler who protects society from hidden injustice supports the conditions for dharmic living and spiritual pursuit under Shiva’s order.

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

Saguna Shiva is revered as Dharmapati—the Lord who sustains cosmic and social order. Honoring the Linga is incomplete without dharmic conduct; justice and self-restraint are presented as practical forms of devotion aligned with Shiva’s governance of the world.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The takeaway is ethical sadhana: practice restraint (brahmacarya/faithfulness), truth, and non-stealing as vows; while doing japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), resolve to abandon “hidden” misconduct as an inner purification.