Shloka 31

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

Devanagari script

उच्छ्वासस्सुनिरुच्छ्वासो सुदीर्घः कूटशाल्मलिः । दुरिष्टस्सुमहावादः प्रवादस्सुप्रतापनः

Transliteration

ucchvāsassunirucchvāso sudīrghaḥ kūṭaśālmaliḥ | duriṣṭassumahāvādaḥ pravādassupratāpanaḥ

Translation

He is the vital breath and the regulated out-breath; He is the supremely long-enduring One; He is the lofty, firm pillar, like the śālmali. He is the hard-to-overcome vision and ordinance; He is the great proclamation; He is the renowned declaration that powerfully burns away impurity.

Word by Word

उच्छ्वासःUcchvāsa (exhalation/breath)

सुनिरुच्छ्वासःSunirucchvāsa (very breathless / with good cessation of breath)

सुदीर्घःvery long

कूटशाल्मलिःKūṭaśālmali (spiked silk-cotton tree; hell-name)

दुरिष्टःill-willed / badly desired

सुमहावादःSumahāvāda (very great clamour/cry)

प्रवादःPravāda (outcry/report)

सुप्रतापनःSupratāpana (greatly scorching one)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s epithets/attributes to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Characters & Entities

Shiva

FAQs

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

It presents Shiva as the inner regulator of prāṇa (breath) and as the purifying power whose “proclamation” burns away mala (impurity), aligning the seeker toward liberation.

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

By describing Shiva as enduring and pillar-like, it resonates with the Liṅga symbolism—Shiva as the steadfast support of all existence—while pointing beyond form to the inner presence governing breath and consciousness.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Breath-discipline (prāṇāyāma) joined with japa—especially the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—as a means of inner purification and steady devotion.