Shloka 68

Devanagari script

यथा हि जाठराग्निश्च भक्ष्यादीन्विविधान्बहून् । दग्ध्वा सारतरं सारात्स्वदेहं परिपुष्यति

Transliteration

yathā hi jāṭharāgniśca bhakṣyādīnvividhānbahūn | dagdhvā sārataraṃ sārātsvadehaṃ paripuṣyati

Translation

Just as the digestive fire, after burning many kinds of foods and the like, draws out what is most essential from their essence and thereby nourishes its own body, so too does the inner fire of Shaiva discernment assimilate the subtlest truth and strengthen the seeker’s spiritual being.

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (comparative particle)

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• जाठर-अग्निः: the digestive fire
• जाठर-अग्निः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāṭhara (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जठरस्य अग्निः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• भक्ष्य-आदीन्: foods and the like
• भक्ष्य-आदीन्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakṣya (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (भक्ष्याः आदयः येषां ते)

• विविधान्: various
• विविधान्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vividha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier of भक्ष्यादीन्)

• बहून्: many
• बहून्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier of भक्ष्यादीन्)

• दग्ध्वा: having burned/digested
• दग्ध्वा: Kriya (क्रिया/पूर्वकर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dah (दह्, धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकाल (having done); कर्तृसम्बन्धी

• सारतरम्: the more essential part
• सारतरम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāratara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन; तुलनात्मक (comparative)

• सारात्: from the essence
• सारात्: Apadana (अपादान/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative); एकवचन; अपादान (source)

• स्व-देहम्: its own body
• स्व-देहम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (स्वः देहः)

• परि-पुष्यति: nourishes fully
• परि-पुष्यति: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √puṣ (पुष्, धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपद; उपसर्गः—परि

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the teaching within the Vidyeshvara/Viśveśvara context to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that true spiritual practice does not merely collect experiences; it “digests” them, extracting the purest essence—knowledge and devotion to Shiva—so the soul becomes strengthened and fit for liberation.

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

Linga-worship trains the mind to concentrate on Shiva as the supreme reality; through steady puja and contemplation, the practitioner assimilates the subtlest meaning of the Linga—Shiva as Pati—just as fire assimilates nourishment from food.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Regular japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with focused meditation—supported by purifying disciplines like Tripuṇḍra bhasma and Rudraksha—helps “burn” distractions and retain only the essential Shaiva realization.