Shloka 19

नरकलोकवर्णनम् (Narakaloka-varṇanam) — Description of the Hell-Realms

Devanagari script

षष्ठी तलातलाख्या च सप्तमी च भयानका । अष्टमी कालरात्रिश्च नवमी च भयोत्कटा

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭhī talātalākhyā ca saptamī ca bhayānakā | aṣṭamī kālarātriśca navamī ca bhayotkaṭā

Translation

“The sixth (level) is called Talātalā; the seventh is dreadful. The eighth is known as Kālarātrī, and the ninth is exceedingly fearsome.”

Word by Word

• षष्ठी: the sixth
• षष्ठी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ordinal ‘the sixth’ (koṭi implied)

• तलातलाख्या: named Talātalā
• तलातलाख्या: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तलातल + आख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘named Talātalā’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• सप्तमी: the seventh
• सप्तमी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ordinal ‘the seventh’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• भयानका: fearsome (Bhayānakā)
• भयानका: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भयानक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘fearsome’ (name/epithet)

• अष्टमी: the eighth
• अष्टमी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ordinal ‘the eighth’

• कालरात्रिः: Kālarātri
• कालरात्रिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल + रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘night of Time/Death’ (name)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• नवमी: the ninth
• नवमी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नवम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ordinal ‘the ninth’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• भयोत्कटा: intensely fearsome (Bhayotkaṭā)
• भयोत्कटा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भय + उत्कट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘intensely fearful’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Mahakala

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga narrative; the appearance of ‘Kālarātrī’ evokes time-death imagery aligned with Mahākāla themes, but without a specific shrine context.

Significance: Meditation on Kālarātrī (time’s night) fosters urgency for sādhana and surrender to Śiva beyond kāla.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kali

Role: destructive

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Kālarātrī as a symbolic ‘night of time’—a microcosmic echo of pralaya-like dread.

FAQs

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

It classifies certain tithis as fearsome, reminding devotees that worldly time (kāla) produces anxiety, while taking refuge in Pati (Shiva) is the Shaiva means to transcend fear and limitation (pāśa).

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

By marking intense or ‘fearful’ time-periods, the text implicitly encourages steadiness in Saguna Shiva worship (Linga-pūjā), where devotion and mantra anchor the mind when time and circumstance feel adverse.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Maintain regular Shiva-upāsanā on such tithis—japa of the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), Linga abhiṣeka, and calm meditation on Shiva as Kāla’s lord (Kālabhairava/Mahākāla) to dissolve fear.