Shloka 57

पापभेदवर्णनम्

Classification of Sins / Taxonomy of Pāpa

Devanagari script

तस्मात्कृतस्य पापस्य प्रायश्चित्तं समाचरेत् । नाभुक्तस्यान्यथानाशः कल्पकोटिशतैरपि

Transliteration

tasmātkṛtasya pāpasya prāyaścittaṃ samācaret | nābhuktasyānyathānāśaḥ kalpakoṭiśatairapi

Translation

Therefore, for the sin that has been committed, one should duly perform prāyaścitta, the rite of expiation. Karma whose result has not yet been undergone is not destroyed by any other means—even across hundreds of crores of aeons.

Word by Word

• तस्मात्: therefore; from that
• तस्मात्: Hetu/Apadana (हेतु/अपादान/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक (m./n.), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन

• कृतस्य: of (what is) done; committed
• कृतस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; विशेषण of ‘पापस्य’

• पापस्य: of sin
• पापस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रायश्चित्तम्: atonement; expiation
• प्रायश्चित्तम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रायश्चित्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• समाचरेत्: should practice; should perform
• समाचरेत्: Kriya (क्रिया/Prescription)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + चर् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; उपसर्ग: सम्-आ-

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निषेध (negation particle)

• अभुक्तस्य: of (sin) not experienced/undergone (i.e., not ‘eaten’ as result)
• अभुक्तस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भुज् (धातु) → भुक्त (कृदन्त) with न- prefix in sandhi context
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle) ‘भुक्त’; here with negation ‘न’ → ‘न अभुक्तस्य’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अन्यथा: otherwise
• अन्यथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb)

• नाशः: destruction; disappearance
• नाशः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कल्प-कोटि-शतैः: by hundreds of crores of aeons
• कल्प-कोटि-शतैः: Karana (करण/Instrumental of extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समाससमूह (determinative chain): कल्प-कोटि-शत; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (plural)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अप्यर्थ (even/also)

Speaker

Lord Shiva (inferred, Umāsaṃhitā philosophical instruction context)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: kalpa-scale continuity of karmic fruition (karma persists across aeons until ‘bhoga’ or expiation/śuddhi mechanisms are applied)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches the inevitability of karmic fruition (pāpa as pasha/bondage) and prescribes prāyaścitta as the Shaiva means to purify and reduce karmic burden, turning the soul toward Shiva’s grace and liberation.

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

In Shaiva practice, expiation is not merely moral repair but a return to disciplined worship—Linga-pūjā, devotion, and surrender—through which the devotee seeks Shiva’s purifying power and steadies the mind for dharma and jñāna.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Perform prāyaścitta through repentance, regulated vows, mantra-japa (especially the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), and purificatory observances often paired with bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and Rudrākṣa as supports to Shaiva discipline.