Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 21

सृष्टिक्रमवर्णनम् / Description of the Sequence of Creation

Devanagari script

ताभ्यां शिष्टा यवीयस्य एकादश सुलोचनाः । ख्यातिस्सत्पथसंभूतिः स्मृतिः प्रीतिः क्षमा तथा

Transliteration

tābhyāṃ śiṣṭā yavīyasya ekādaśa sulocanāḥ | khyātissatpathasaṃbhūtiḥ smṛtiḥ prītiḥ kṣamā tathā

Translation

De ces deux-là, la plus jeune demeura avec onze filles aux beaux yeux : Khyāti, Satpathasaṃbhūti, Smṛti, Prīti, et aussi Kṣamā.

Word by Word

• tābhyām: by those two (wives)
• tābhyām: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया) / Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Dual (द्विवचन); here Instrumental ‘by those two’

• śiṣṭāḥ: were instructed/formed
• śiṣṭāḥ: Kriya (क्रिया/participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śās (धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); ‘instructed/educated’ (here: ‘brought up/formed’)

• yavīyasya: of the younger one
• yavīyasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yavīyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन); comparative ‘younger (brother/one)’

• ekādaśa: eleven
• ekādaśa: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekādaśan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral adjective (संख्याविशेषण), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग) agreeing with sulocanāḥ, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural sense

• su-locanāḥ: the fair-eyed (ones)
• su-locanāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + locanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); कर्मधारयः—‘सुन्दर-लोचनाः’

• khyātiḥ: Khyāti (Renown)
• khyātiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khyāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• sat-patha-saṃbhūtiḥ: Satpathasaṃbhūti
• sat-patha-saṃbhūtiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + patha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhūti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुषः—‘सत्पथात् सम्भूतिः’/‘सत्पथ-सम्बन्धिनी सम्भूतिः’ (name)

• smṛtiḥ: Smṛti (Memory/Tradition)
• smṛtiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• prītiḥ: Prīti (Affection)
• prītiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prīti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• kṣamā: Kṣamā (Forbearance)
• kṣamā: Karta (कर्ता/नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣamā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• tathā: and also
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb/connector (क्रियाविशेषण/समुच्चयार्थ)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Rudrasaṃhitā account to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: sub-branching of progeny (vaṃśa-vistāra) as part of sarga

FAQs

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

It situates cosmic order through lineage: virtues like Smṛti (right recollection), Prīti (devotional affection), and Kṣamā (forbearance) are presented as manifest principles within creation, implying that dharmic qualities are woven into the world’s structure under Shiva’s overarching lordship (Pati).

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

While the verse is genealogical, it supports Saguna-Shiva worship by showing that the manifest universe—including divine qualities and their personified forms—unfolds in an ordered way. Linga-worship reveres Shiva as the transcendent source (Nirguna) who also grounds and sustains these manifest principles (Saguna).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is cultivating Kṣamā (forgiveness), Smṛti (mindful remembrance), and Prīti (loving devotion) during japa of the Panchakshara mantra—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—as inner disciplines that align the practitioner with Shiva’s dharmic order.