Shloka 41

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

Devanagari script

संमोहमस्थिभंगश्च तप्तश्चलमयो गुडम् । बहुदुखं महाक्लेशः कश्मलं समलं मलात्

Transliteration

saṃmohamasthibhaṃgaśca taptaścalamayo guḍam | bahudukhaṃ mahākleśaḥ kaśmalaṃ samalaṃ malāt

Translation

It brings delusion and even the breaking of bones; it burns and is unsteady—like jaggery melting in heat. It yields many sorrows and great affliction; it is sinful, stained, and born of impurity.

Word by Word

• saṃmohaḥ: delusion
• saṃmohaḥ: Karta/Viśeṣya (कर्ता/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃmoha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• asthi-bhaṅgaḥ: breaking of bones
• asthi-bhaṅgaḥ: Karta/Viśeṣya (कर्ता/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asthi (प्रातिपदिक) + bhaṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (Genitive determinative): ‘अस्थ्नां भङ्गः’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• taptaḥ: burnt; heated
• taptaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tap (धातु) + ta (क्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• calamayaḥ: fickle; unsteady in nature
• calamayaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cala (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तद्धितार्थ-तत्पुरुष: ‘चल-स्वभावः/चलमयः’ (made of/consisting of movement; fickle)

• guḍam: jaggery; molasses
• guḍam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• bahu-dukham: much suffering
• bahu-dukham: Karta/Viśeṣya (कर्ता/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘बहुं दुःखं यस्मिन्/बहुदुःखम्’ (much suffering)

• mahā-kleśaḥ: great affliction
• mahā-kleśaḥ: Karta/Viśeṣya (कर्ता/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + kleśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘महान् क्लेशः’

• kaśmalam: sin; impurity; distress
• kaśmalam: Karta/Viśeṣya (कर्ता/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaśmala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• sa-malam: impure; with filth
• sa-malam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (उपसर्ग/सह-भाव) + mala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘मलेन सह/मलयुक्तम्’ (with impurity)

• malāt: from impurity; from filth
• malāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Uma-saṃhitā discourse to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Rudra

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse diagnoses worldly attachment as inherently unstable and impure, producing delusion and suffering; in Shaiva Siddhanta this recognition supports vairāgya and turns the seeker toward Pati (Shiva) as the only liberator from mala and bondage.

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

By exposing the unreliability of sense-pleasures, it indirectly guides the mind to a steady refuge—Saguna Shiva worship through the Liṅga—so devotion and purity can replace instability and stain, preparing the aspirant for Shiva’s grace.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Cultivate detachment alongside Shiva-upāsanā: japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and purity disciplines such as Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) with inward remembrance, to counter mala and mental delusion.