Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 50

वसन्तस्वरूपवर्णनम् — Description of the Form/Nature of Vasant

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Devanagari script

एभिस्सहचरैः काम वसंत प्रमुखैर्भवान् । मोहयस्व महादेवं रत्या सह महोद्यतः

Transliteration

ebhissahacaraiḥ kāma vasaṃta pramukhairbhavān | mohayasva mahādevaṃ ratyā saha mahodyataḥ

Translation

Wahai Kāma, bersama para pendamping ini yang dipimpin Musim Semi, majulah dengan tekad besar bersama Rati, dan limpahkan pesonamu yang memabukkan kepada Mahādeva.

Word by Word

• ebhiḥ: with these
• ebhiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक; इदम्-शब्द)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• sahacaraiḥ: companions
• sahacaraiḥ: Sahakāraka (सहकारक/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahacara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• kāma: O Kāma
• kāma: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• vasaṃta: O Spring (Vasanta)
• vasaṃta: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasanta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• pramukhaiḥ: chief/foremost
• pramukhaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pramukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); adjective qualifying sahacaraiḥ

• bhavān: you (honored one)
• bhavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक; भवत्-शब्द)
• Form: Pronoun/honorific (सर्वनाम/आदरार्थ), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• mohayasva: delude/infatuate
• mohayasva: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muh (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्, imperative), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); causative (णिच्) sense: ‘cause to be deluded’

• mahādevam: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• mahādevam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahādeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); समासः—कर्मधारयः (mahā + deva)

• ratyā: with Rati
• ratyā: Sahakāraka (सहकारक/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ratī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• saha: together with
• saha: Sahakāraka-marker (सह-निर्देशक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), preposition-like particle indicating accompaniment (सह)

• mahodyataḥ: greatly prepared/fully intent
• mahodyataḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā-udyata (प्रातिपदिक; mahā + udyata)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); समासः—कर्मधारयः; adjective qualifying bhavān

Speaker

Brahmā (in the Satīkhaṇḍa narrative, commissioning Kāma)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Rati

Role: creative

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Kama
• Rati
• Vasanta
• Brahma

FAQs

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

It highlights the Shaiva teaching that kāma (desire) and moha (delusion) are forces that bind ordinary beings, yet Mahādeva—Pati, the Lord beyond māyā—cannot be truly overpowered by them; the episode reveals Śiva’s transcendence and the ultimate futility of attempting to bind the Absolute with passion.

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

The narrative frames Śiva as the supreme reality who may appear in a saguna, approachable form within the story, yet remains inwardly untouched; Linga-worship trains the devotee to see Śiva as the stable, desireless ground of consciousness while the mind’s impulses (kāma, vasantādi) rise and fall.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is to counter kāma and moha through japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), supported by Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as reminders of vairāgya (dispassion) and Śiva-centered awareness.