Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 48

सेवातत्त्वप्रश्नः — The Question of Whom to Serve (Sevā) for the Removal of Suffering

Devanagari script

विशुद्धा विद्यया ये च ब्रह्मन्ब्रह्मविदो जनाः । नास्ति क्रिया च तेषां वै सुखं दुखं विचारतः

Transliteration

viśuddhā vidyayā ye ca brahmanbrahmavido janāḥ | nāsti kriyā ca teṣāṃ vai sukhaṃ dukhaṃ vicārataḥ

Translation

Ô Brahmane, ceux que la vraie connaissance a purifiés et qui connaissent Brahman: pour eux, nulle contrainte d’agir; et, par le juste discernement, plaisir et douleur ne les enchaînent pas.

Word by Word

• viśuddhāḥ: purified
• viśuddhāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viśuddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• vidyayā: by knowledge
• vidyayā: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (कर्ता/relative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• brahman: O Brahman (sage)
• brahman: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; संबोधन-पदम्

• brahma-vidaḥ: knowers of Brahman
• brahma-vidaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman + vid (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्म वेत्ति इति)

• janāḥ: people
• janāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/negation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• asti: exists
• asti: Kriyā (क्रिया/finite verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• kriyā: ritual action, activity
• kriyā: Karta (कर्ता/subject of 'asti'—negated)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• teṣām: for them, of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• sukham: pleasure
• sukham: Karma (कर्म/object in consideration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• duḥkham: pain
• duḥkham: Karma (कर्म/object in consideration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• vicārataḥ: upon reflection, in consideration
• vicārataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vicāratas (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतौ/प्रकारे-अव्यय (adverb: 'upon consideration/as a matter of reflection')

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Īśāna

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

FAQs

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

It teaches that when knowledge becomes fully purifying, the seeker transcends bondage to karma and becomes steady beyond the dualities of pleasure and pain—an essential mark of liberation in Shaiva thought.

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

Linga and Saguna Shiva worship discipline the mind and purify the heart; when that devotion matures into direct knowledge, the devotee is no longer bound by ritual compulsion and rests in Shiva-conscious discernment.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The implied practice is steady vicāra (discernment) supported by Shiva-upāsanā—japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and meditative detachment from sukha-duḥkha—so actions become non-binding.