Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 27

शिवदूतस्य शङ्खचूडकुलप्रवेशः — The Śiva-Envoy’s Entry into Śaṅkhacūḍa’s City

Devanagari script

शिवस्य पूर्णरूपश्च लोकसंहारकारकः । सतां गतिर्दुष्टहंता निर्विकारः परात्परः

Transliteration

śivasya pūrṇarūpaśca lokasaṃhārakārakaḥ | satāṃ gatirduṣṭahaṃtā nirvikāraḥ parātparaḥ

Translation

Il est la manifestation pleine et parfaite de Śiva, l’agent même de la dissolution du monde. Il est le refuge et le but ultime des justes ; le destructeur des méchants ; immuable, et plus haut que le plus haut.

Word by Word

• śivasya: of Śiva
• śivasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठī), Singular (एकवचन)

• pūrṇa-rūpaḥ: of complete form
• pūrṇa-rūpaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); कर्मधारय ‘whose form is complete/fully manifested’

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• loka-saṃhāra-kārakaḥ: cause/agent of the destruction of the worlds
• loka-saṃhāra-kārakaḥ: Pradhāna/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃhāra (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष chain ‘maker/agent of world-destruction’

• satām: of the good (people)
• satām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुंसक), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन); ‘of the good/virtuous’

• gatiḥ: refuge, goal
• gatiḥ: Pradhāna/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); predicate noun

• duṣṭa-haṃtā: slayer of the wicked
• duṣṭa-haṃtā: Pradhāna/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + hantṛ (प्रातिपदिक from √han)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); उपपद-तत्पुरुष ‘slayer of the wicked’

• nirvikāraḥ: unchanging
• nirvikāraḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-vikāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); adjective ‘unchanging’

• parāt-paraḥ: supremely transcendent
• parāt-paraḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parāt (ablative of para) + para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); comparative-superlative sense ‘beyond the beyond’; treated as fixed तत्पुरुष expression

Speaker

Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating the Shiva Purana account to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Kedāranātha

Sthala Purana: Kedāra is famed as a refuge (gati) and a place of purification; the verse’s ‘satāṃ gatiḥ’ resonates with Kedāra’s identity as a high refuge where devotees seek Śiva beyond change (nirvikāra).

Significance: Pilgrimage symbolizes ascent from paśu-bhāva to śaraṇāgati; contemplation of nirvikāra Śiva steadies the mind and supports liberation-oriented devotion.

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: loka-saṃhāra (world dissolution)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It presents Śiva as both immanent and transcendent: the power behind cosmic dissolution and, at the same time, the changeless supreme refuge (satāṃ gatiḥ) who grants liberation by removing evil and ignorance.

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

The verse supports Saguna devotion (approaching Śiva as the protector and destroyer of evil) while also pointing to His Nirguna truth (nirvikāraḥ, parātparaḥ). Linga-worship holds both together: a visible focus that leads the mind to the formless, highest Śiva.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Contemplate Śiva as nirvikāra (unchanging) while repeating the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” and offer simple Linga-pūjā (water, bilva leaves) with the intent of aligning with sat (righteousness) and overcoming duṣṭatā (inner negativity).