Shloka 97

भस्म-प्रकार-त्रिपुण्ड्र-धारण-विधिः

Types of Bhasma and the Method of Wearing Tripuṇḍra

Devanagari script

द्वात्रिंशत्स्थानके वार्द्धषोडशस्थानकेपि च । अष्टस्थाने तथा चैव पंचस्थानेपि नान्यसेत्

Transliteration

dvātriṃśatsthānake vārddhaṣoḍaśasthānakepi ca | aṣṭasthāne tathā caiva paṃcasthānepi nānyaset

Translation

Que la pratique soit ordonnée en trente-deux stations, selon la méthode étendue de seize, ou encore selon huit ou cinq, qu’on n’insère rien d’autre (mantra ou divinité) entre elles, afin de préserver sans trouble l’ordonnance et la discipline śaiva.

Word by Word

• द्वात्रिंशत्-स्थानके: in the thirty-two-place (scheme)
• द्वात्रिंशत्-स्थानके: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvātriṃśat (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + sthānaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); dvigu compound meaning 'in the (set of) thirty-two places'

• वा: or
• वा: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), disjunctive particle (विकल्प)

• अर्ध-षोडश-स्थानके: in the half-of-sixteen-place (scheme)
• अर्ध-षोडश-स्थानके: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ardha (प्रातिपदिक) + ṣoḍaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + sthānaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); 'in the (scheme of) half of sixteen places' (i.e., eight)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), additive particle (अपि = also)

• च: and
• च: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction

• अष्ट-स्थाने: in the eight-place (scheme)
• अष्ट-स्थाने: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); 'in the eight places'

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (तथा = likewise)

• च: and
• च: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), restrictive particle

• पञ्च-स्थाने: in the five-place (scheme)
• पञ्च-स्थाने: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañca (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); 'in the five places'

• अपि: also
• अपि: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), additive particle

• न: not
• न: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), negation particle (निषेध)

• अन्यसेत्: should sit elsewhere
• अन्यसेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anya+ās (धातु)
• Form: Optative (विधिलिङ्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); from √आस् 'to sit' with prefix/derivation 'अन्य' → 'sit elsewhere'

Speaker

Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating the Shiva Purana’s Vidyeśvarasaṃhitā teachings to the sages)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It emphasizes ekāgratā (one-pointedness) and fidelity to Śiva’s mantra-method: spiritual power arises when the practitioner preserves the intended Śaiva sequence without mixing unrelated insertions.

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

Linga/Saguṇa-Śiva worship relies on precise upacāra and mantra-krama; the verse instructs that even when different standard station-counts are used (32/16/8/5), the Śaiva arrangement should remain pure and uninterrupted.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Maintain a consistent nyāsa/japa framework (five-, eight-, sixteen-, or thirty-two-station) without adding other mantras mid-sequence—supporting steady Panchākṣarī japa and Śiva-centered meditation.