Shloka 16

पापभेदवर्णनम्

Classification of Sins / Taxonomy of Pāpa

Devanagari script

भेत्ता तडागकूपानां संक्रयाणां रसस्य च । एकपंक्तिस्थितानां च पाकभेदं करोति यः

Transliteration

bhettā taḍāgakūpānāṃ saṃkrayāṇāṃ rasasya ca | ekapaṃktisthitānāṃ ca pākabhedaṃ karoti yaḥ

Translation

Quienquiera que cause división y desorden—rompiendo estanques y pozos, falseando medidas y trueques, adulterando sustancias y su sabor, y haciendo desigual la comida destinada a quienes están sentados en una sola fila—comete una grave falta que quebranta el orden del dharma.

Word by Word

भेत्ताa breaker/destroyer

तडाग-कूपानाम्of ponds and wells

संक्रयाणाम्of purchases/sales; transactions

रसस्यof juice/essence; taste

चand

एक-पंक्ति-स्थितानाम्of those seated in one row

चand

पाक-भेदम्distinction/difference in cooking (food distribution)

करोतिdoes/makes

यःwho (he who)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: Protecting water sources, fair trade, and equal communal feeding is treated as sustaining dharmic order (sthiti); violating them increases pāśa and social suffering.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Annapūrṇā

Role: nurturing

Ritual Elements

Offering: naivedya

Characters & Entities

Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that dharma is upheld not only by worship but by protecting shared resources and fairness—destroying water sources, cheating in trade, adulterating goods, or discriminating in communal feeding creates harmful karma and obstructs the soul’s progress toward Shiva’s grace.

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

In Shaiva understanding, true Linga-worship is inseparable from purity and compassion in conduct; serving Saguna Shiva includes honoring Shiva in all beings, so injustice in public welfare and unequal feeding contradicts the spirit of devotion.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Practice purity (śauca) and equality (samatā) alongside japa of the Panchakshara—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and offer food or water as Shiva-sevā without discrimination, especially during vrata and temple annadāna.