Shloka 56

दक्षस्य यज्ञप्रवृत्तिः तथा ईश्वरवर्जितदेवसमागमः

Dakṣa’s Sacrificial Undertaking and the Devas’ Assembly without Īśvara

Devanagari script

तैर्भद्रैर्भगवान्मद्रस्तथा परिवृतो बभौ । कालानलशतैर्युक्तो यथांते कालभैरवः

Transliteration

tairbhadrairbhagavānmadrastathā parivṛto babhau | kālānalaśatairyukto yathāṃte kālabhairavaḥ

Translation

Thus surrounded by those auspicious attendants, the Blessed Lord—Madra—shone forth, as if Kālabhairava at the end of time, endowed with a hundred fires of Time’s consuming blaze.

Word by Word

• taiḥ: by/with those
• taiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; ‘by/with those’

• bhadraiḥ: with the Bhadrās
• bhadraiḥ: Sahakārī/Karaṇa (सहकारी/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhadra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘with the Bhadrās (attendants)’

• bhagavān: the Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘the Lord’

• madraḥ: Madra (name)
• madraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; proper name/title (here: Madra)

• tathā: thus, likewise
• tathā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार/समुच्चयवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘thus/so/also’)

• parivṛtaḥ: surrounded
• parivṛtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari-√vṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘surrounded’

• babhau: appeared, shone
• babhau: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhā (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘shone/appeared’

• kāla-anala-śataiḥ: with hundreds of destructive fires
• kāla-anala-śataiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + anala (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘with hundreds of time-fires (fires of destruction)’

• yuktaḥ: endowed/associated
• yuktaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √yuj (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘joined/associated/endowed’

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Upamā-dyotaka (उपमा-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (as/just as)

• ante: at the end
• ante: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘at the end (of time)’

• kāla-bhairavaḥ: Kālabhairava
• kāla-bhairavaḥ: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + bhairava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; proper name ‘Kālabhairava’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Kālabhairava

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: destructive

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: pralaya/‘end of time’ (ante) imagery with kālānala (time-fire)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Kālabhairava

FAQs

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

The verse presents Shiva as Kālabhairava—the Lord who governs Time and dissolution—teaching that all finite powers are consumed by Time, while Pati (Shiva) remains the sovereign reality who leads the soul beyond fear and decay.

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

It supports Saguna worship by giving a concrete, awe-inspiring form—Kālabhairava—through which devotees contemplate Shiva’s cosmic function of pralaya; such contemplation stabilizes devotion and points the mind toward the Linga as the timeless presence behind all forms.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A fitting takeaway is Kālabhairava-dhyāna while repeating the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), coupled with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) remembrance of impermanence—training the mind to surrender fear of time and death to Shiva.