Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 16

शुक्रोत्पत्तिः तथा महेश्वरदर्शनम् (Śukra’s Emergence and the Vision of Maheśvara)

Devanagari script

सत्त्वं रजस्तमोधर्ममधर्मं वासवानुजम् । सत्यं त्वसत्यं सद्रूपमसद्रूपमहेतुकम्

Transliteration

sattvaṃ rajastamodharmamadharmaṃ vāsavānujam | satyaṃ tvasatyaṃ sadrūpamasadrūpamahetukam

Translation

Il est le principe même de sattva, rajas et tamas; on l’appelle à la fois dharma et adharma, et même le cadet d’Indra. Il est la Vérité, et pourtant au-delà de toute prise de la fausseté; il est la forme réelle et aussi ce qui paraît irréel — le Sans-cause, antérieur à toute cause.

Word by Word

• सत्त्वम्: sattva; purity
• सत्त्वम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sattva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• रजः-तमः-धर्मम्: the property of rajas and tamas
• रजः-तमः-धर्मम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajas (प्रातिपदिक) + tamas (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष: rajas-tamasayoḥ dharmaḥ), Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• अधर्मम्: unrighteousness
• अधर्मम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• वासव-अनुजम्: younger brother of Vāsava (Indra)
• वासव-अनुजम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāsava (प्रातिपदिक) + anuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष: vāsavasya anujaḥ), Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• सत्यम्: truth
• सत्यम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• तु: and/but
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse particle (निपात-प्रयोग)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, Particle (निपात)

• असत्यम्: untruth
• असत्यम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asatya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• सत्-रूपम्: real form; true nature
• सत्-रूपम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष: sat-rūpam), Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• असत्-रूपम्: unreal form
• असत्-रूपम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asat (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa, Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• अ-हेतुकम्: causeless; without cause
• अ-हेतुकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (नञ्) + hetuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adjective with privative prefix (नञ्-समासभाव), Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya, continuing the Yuddhakhaṇḍa discourse)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha

Sthala Purana: As Viśvanātha, Śiva is ‘lord of the universe’—immanent in guṇas (sattva-rajas-tamas) and yet ahetuka (causeless), the ground of all causality; Kāśī is famed as the place where this lord grants liberation beyond dharma/adharma dualities.

Significance: Jñāna-vairāgya and mokṣa-prāpti; the ‘taraka’ grace of Śiva that carries the soul beyond guṇa and karma.

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• Vishnu
• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse presents the Supreme as transcending opposites: He pervades the three guṇas and even the moral polarity of dharma/adharma, showing that Shiva as Pati is beyond limited categories while still governing them for cosmic order and liberation.

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

By stating both ‘real form’ and ‘unreal appearance,’ it supports Linga worship as a Saguna support (ālambana) for devotees, while affirming that Shiva’s highest nature is beyond form and conceptual extremes—Nirguna, yet graciously accessible.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is guṇa-śuddhi through japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with vibhūti (Tripuṇḍra) and steady meditation on Shiva as the witness beyond sattva-rajas-tamas, cultivating detachment and clarity.