Shloka 11

शक्तितत्त्ववर्णनम् / Exposition of the Principle of Śakti

Devanagari script

मुमुक्षवः पुरा केचिन्मुनयो ब्रह्मवादिनः । संशयाविष्टमनसो विस्मृशंति यथातथम्

Transliteration

mumukṣavaḥ purā kecinmunayo brahmavādinaḥ | saṃśayāviṣṭamanaso vismṛśaṃti yathātatham

Translation

In former times, certain sages—seekers of liberation and expounders of Brahman—were inwardly seized by doubt; their minds entangled, they spoke and reconsidered matters in a confused, haphazard way.

Word by Word

• mumukṣavaḥ: seekers of liberation
• mumukṣavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mumukṣu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); इच्छार्थक-नाम (desiderative sense: ‘desiring liberation’)

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kāla (काल/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (कर्ता/Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); अनिश्चितवाचक सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• munayaḥ: sages
• munayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• brahma-vādinaḥ: teachers of Brahman
• brahma-vādinaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + vādin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ब्रह्मणः वादी (one who speaks/teaches Brahman)

• saṃśaya-āviṣṭa-manasaḥ: whose minds are seized by doubt
• saṃśaya-āviṣṭa-manasaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक) + āviṣṭa (√viś/विश् धातु, क्त) + manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: संशयेन आविष्टं मनः येषाम् (doubt-possessed minds)

• vismṛśanti: they forget/lose awareness
• vismṛśanti: Kriyā (क्रिया/Finite verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + √smṛś (स्मृश् धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada)

• yathā: as/in whatever way
• yathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb)

• tatham: so/accordingly
• tatham: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

FAQs

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

It highlights saṃśaya (doubt) as a subtle pāśa (bondage) that disturbs even learned mumukṣus; liberation requires steadiness of mind and clarity of right knowledge, ultimately ripened by Shiva’s anugraha (grace).

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

When the mind is seized by doubt, Saguna Shiva worship—especially Linga-upāsanā—functions as a stabilizing support (ālambana), purifying attention and leading the seeker toward firm conviction and deeper realization.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is japa of the Panchākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” with steady dhyāna on Shiva (often in the Linga), as a means to quiet doubt and gather the mind into one-pointedness.