Shloka 43

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

Devanagari script

अष्टाविंशतिरित्येते क्रमशः पंचपंचकम् । कोटीनामानुपूर्व्येण पंच पंचैव नायकाः

Transliteration

aṣṭāviṃśatirityete kramaśaḥ paṃcapaṃcakam | koṭīnāmānupūrvyeṇa paṃca paṃcaiva nāyakāḥ

Translation

Thus these are twenty-eight groups, arranged successively as sets of five. In the same order, for the Rudra-koṭis there are leaders—five for each set.

Word by Word

• aṣṭāviṃśatiḥ: twenty-eight
• aṣṭāviṃśatiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭā-viṃśati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (numeral compound: 28), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, इत्यादि-उद्धरण/समाप्त्यर्थक (quotative: thus)

• ete: these
• ete: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• kramaśaḥ: successively
• kramaśaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kramaśas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), क्रमवाचक (in order, successively)

• pañca-pañcakam: a set of five (each)
• pañca-pañcakam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañca (प्रातिपदिक) + pañcaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (group of five, fivefold set), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन

• koṭīnām: of the koṭīs (classes/crores)
• koṭīnām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: koṭī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• ānupūrvyeṇa: in proper order
• ānupūrvyeṇa: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānupūrvya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (adverbially: in due sequence)

• pañca: five
• pañca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/संख्या)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pañca (अव्यय/संख्याशब्द)
• Form: संख्यावाचक (numeral), अव्ययवत् प्रयोग (used indeclinably)

• pañca: five
• pañca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/संख्या)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pañca (अव्यय/संख्याशब्द)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, अव्ययवत् प्रयोग

• eva: indeed, exactly
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारणार्थक (emphatic: indeed/only)

• nāyakāḥ: leaders
• nāyakāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Rudra

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Rudras

FAQs

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

It presents Shiva’s manifestations as an ordered divine hierarchy—many hosts and leaders—yet all grounded in the one Pati (Lord). For a Shaiva devotee, this trains the mind to see unity in multiplicity: countless forms, one Shiva.

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

The Linga signifies the one Supreme Shiva, while the listed koṭis and their nāyakas indicate Saguna Shiva’s structured expressions in the cosmos. Worship of the Linga is devotion to the source from whom these ordered manifestations proceed.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Contemplate Shiva as the one Lord governing all divine hosts; in japa, align this contemplation with the Panchakshara (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), offering the sense of ‘manyness’ back into the oneness of Shiva.