Shloka 156

बन्धमोक्षवर्णनम्

Bondage and Liberation: The Prakṛti–Karma Wheel and Śiva as the Transcendent Cause

Devanagari script

शिवभक्तस्य भिक्षान्नंशिवभक्तिविवर्धनम् । शंभुसत्रमिति प्राहुर्भिक्षान्नंशिवयोगिनः

Transliteration

śivabhaktasya bhikṣānnaṃśivabhaktivivardhanam | śaṃbhusatramiti prāhurbhikṣānnaṃśivayoginaḥ

Translation

Pour le dévot de Śiva, la nourriture reçue en aumône devient un accroissement de la bhakti envers Śiva. Les yogins de Śiva déclarent que cette nourriture d’aumône est un « Śambhu-satra » : un festin-offrande sacré dédié à Śambhu (le Seigneur Śiva).

Word by Word

• śiva-bhaktasya: of a devotee of Śiva
• śiva-bhaktasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: शिवस्य भक्तः; पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• bhikṣā-annam: alms-food
• bhikṣā-annam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhikṣā (प्रातिपदिक) + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: भिक्षायाः अन्नम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; subject (understood: 'is')

• śiva-bhakti-vivardhanam: increasing devotion to Śiva
• śiva-bhakti-vivardhanam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + vivardhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: शिवभक्तेः विवर्धनम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate noun/adjective

• śaṃbhu-satram: Śambhu’s sacrificial session/feast
• śaṃbhu-satram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃbhu (प्रातिपदिक) + satra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: शंभोः सत्रम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; name/appellation

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इत्यादि-उद्धरणार्थक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• prāhuḥ: they call/declare
• prāhuḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; 'they declare'

• bhikṣā-annam: alms-food
• bhikṣā-annam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhikṣā (प्रातिपदिक) + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; object of prāhuḥ

• śiva-yoginaḥ: Śiva-yogins (yogis devoted to Śiva)
• śiva-yoginaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + yogin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: शिवस्य योगिनः/शिवयोगिनः; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; subject (speakers)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Bhikṣāṭana

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga episode; the verse sacralizes bhikṣā as ‘Śambhu-satra’, echoing the ideal of Śiva’s own bhikṣāṭana motif—transforming alms into a devotional yajña.

Significance: Affirms that devotion is not dependent on wealth: alms-food, received and taken with Śiva-bhakti, becomes a sacred feast that increases bhakti and supports yogic life.

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Ritual Elements

Offering: naivedya

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that a Shiva devotee’s simple sustenance—received humbly as bhiksha—can itself become a means of intensifying Shiva-bhakti, turning ordinary eating into a sanctified act aligned with Pati (Shiva).

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

By calling alms-food a “Śambhu-satra,” the verse frames daily life as an offering to Saguna Shiva—where devotion is expressed not only in temple rites to the Linga, but also through disciplined, consecrated living.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Adopt a vow of simplicity and sanctify food as Shiva-prasada—receive or offer it with remembrance of Shiva (e.g., inward japa of the Panchakshara, “Om Namah Shivaya”) and the attitude of Shiva-seva.