Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 38

सृष्टिक्रमवर्णनम् / Description of the Sequence of Creation

Devanagari script

विष्णुस्सत्त्वं रजोऽहं च तमो रुद्र उदाहृतः । लोकाचारत इत्येवं नामतो वस्तुतोऽन्यथा

Transliteration

viṣṇussattvaṃ rajo'haṃ ca tamo rudra udāhṛtaḥ | lokācārata ityevaṃ nāmato vastuto'nyathā

Translation

On dit que Viṣṇu est sattva, que moi (Brahmā) suis rajas, et que Rudra est tamas : ainsi parle-t-on selon l’usage du monde. Mais cette distinction n’est qu’un nom ; en vérité, il en est autrement (au-delà de ces partages).

Word by Word

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sattvam: sattva (purity)
• sattvam: Karta (कर्ता/Predicate-nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sattva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र विधेय (predicate nominative)

• rajaḥ: rajas (activity)
• rajaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Predicate-nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय (predicate)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय/Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• tamaḥ: tamas (inertia)
• tamaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Predicate-nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय (predicate)

• rudraḥ: Rudra
• rudraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• udāhṛtaḥ: is declared
• udāhṛtaḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-ā-hṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “is declared”

• loka-ācārataḥ: according to worldly convention
• loka-ācārataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + ācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb): “लोकाचारात्” = according to worldly convention

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इति-निपात (quotative particle)

• evam: in this way
• evam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (manner adverb)

• nāmataḥ: by name
• nāmataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb): “नामतः” = by name/nominally

• vastutaḥ: in reality
• vastutaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vastu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय: “वस्तुतः” = in reality/essentially

• anyathā: otherwise
• anyathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb: “otherwise”)

Speaker

Brahmā

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Brahma
• Rudra

FAQs

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

It teaches that attributing sattva, rajas, and tamas to Viṣṇu, Brahmā, and Rudra is a practical, worldly classification; the ultimate truth transcends such labels, pointing to the one Reality (Śiva as the supreme principle) beyond guṇas.

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

Linga-worship trains the mind to see beyond mere names and roles (creator, preserver, dissolver) and to recognize Śiva as the underlying essence; Saguna forms aid devotion, while the verse reminds the seeker that the final truth is beyond guṇa-based distinctions.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Contemplate Śiva as guṇātīta (beyond sattva-rajas-tamas) while doing japa of the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and apply Tripuṇḍra bhasma as a daily reminder that worldly designations are secondary to the supreme Reality.