Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 5

गिरिजातपः-परीक्षा तथा सप्तर्षि-आह्वानम्

Girijā’s Austerity-Test and the Summoning of the Seven Sages

Devanagari script

तद्वस्तुभूतो भगवानीश्वरो वृषभध्वजः । अविज्ञातगतिस्सूतिस्स हरः परमेश्वरः

Transliteration

tadvastubhūto bhagavānīśvaro vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ | avijñātagatissūtissa haraḥ parameśvaraḥ

Translation

彼はまさにその実在そのものとなられた——吉祥なる主、牛を旗印とするイーシュヴァラ。御業の道筋は知り得ず、その顕現は常の知を超える。彼こそハラ、至上の主である。

Word by Word

• tat: that
• tat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; समास-पूर्वपद (तत्)

• vastu-bhūtaḥ: having become that reality/thing
• vastu-bhūtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vastu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūta (भू धातु + क्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (vastu-rūpeṇa bhūtaḥ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (ईश्वरस्य)

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• īśvaraḥ: the Lord
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; apposition to bhagavān

• vṛṣabha-dhvajaḥ: he whose banner is the bull
• vṛṣabha-dhvajaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक) + dhvaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (yasya dhvajaḥ vṛṣabhaḥ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपाधि

• avijñāta-gatiḥ: he whose course is unknowable
• avijñāta-gatiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-vijñāta (ज्ञा धातु + क्त, नञ्) + gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (yasya gatiḥ avijñātā), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sūtiḥ: birth/origin
• sūtiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘birth/origin’ (अर्थः प्रसङ्गानुसार)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• haraḥ: Hara (Śiva)
• haraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• parameśvaraḥ: the Supreme Lord
• parameśvaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (paramaḥ īśvaraḥ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahadeva

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Nandi

FAQs

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

It declares Shiva as Parameśvara who is both the manifest Lord (bull-bannered, approachable) and the ultimate Reality whose true course cannot be grasped by ordinary intellect—pointing the seeker toward surrender, grace, and liberation.

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

By naming him Īśvara and Vṛṣabhadhvaja, the verse affirms Saguna worship (forms, symbols, and devotion), while also teaching that the same Shiva is the transcendent Reality beyond conceptual limits—exactly the principle expressed in Liṅga worship.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Contemplate Shiva as both immanent and transcendent while repeating the Pañcākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with bhakti; the takeaway is steady japa and inward surrender to Hara, the remover of bondage.