Shloka 18

वीरभद्र-भैरव-आह्वानम् — Invocation of Vīrabhadra/Bhairava for Cosmic Reabsorption

Devanagari script

जन्तुचक्रं भगवता प्रच्छिन्नं मत्स्यरूपिणा । पुच्छेनैव समाबध्य भ्रमन्नेकार्णवे पुरा

Transliteration

jantucakraṃ bhagavatā pracchinnaṃ matsyarūpiṇā | pucchenaiva samābadhya bhramannekārṇave purā

Translation

太古、ただ一つの大海のみが残ったとき、福徳の主は魚の姿をとり、回転する衆生の輪を断ち切り、みずからの尾でそれを結び留めて、その原初の洪水の中を巡り給うた。

Word by Word

• जन्तुचक्रम्: the wheel/cycle of beings
• जन्तुचक्रम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्तु + चक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जन्तूनां चक्रम्)

• भगवता: by the Lord
• भगवता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/कर्तृ-करण), एकवचन

• प्रच्छिन्नम्: cut off / severed
• प्रच्छिन्नम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + छिद् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, भूतकर्मणि/कर्मणि प्रयोग), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणः विशेषणम्

• मत्स्यरूपिणा: by (one) having the form of a fish
• मत्स्यरूपिणा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत्स्य + रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मत्स्यस्य रूपं यस्य)

• पुच्छेन: with the tail
• पुच्छेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुच्छ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• एव: indeed / only
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• समाबध्य: having bound/fastened
• समाबध्य: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + बन्ध् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (ल्यप्/क्त्वान्त-अव्यय, gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; ‘having bound/fastened’

• भ्रमन्: while moving/whirling
• भ्रमन्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (शतृ-प्रत्यय, वर्तमानकालिक), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक

• एकार्णवे: in the single ocean (cosmic ocean)
• एकार्णवे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (एकः अर्णवः)

• पुरा: formerly / in ancient times
• पुरा: Kala (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of time)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: ekārṇava (primal deluge / dissolution-to-recreation threshold)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Bhagavan (the Lord)
• Matsya (Fish form)

FAQs

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

It portrays the Lord as the sovereign Pati who can restrain and redirect the jīvas caught in the jantucakra (cycle of embodied existence), indicating divine grace that cuts bondage and preserves beings through cosmic dissolution.

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

The Fish-form highlights Saguna manifestation—Shiva’s accessible, compassionate form acting within time—while pointing to the same transcendent Lord worshipped as the Linga, who remains the support even when the worlds are dissolved.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Contemplate Shiva as the savior through dissolution and change, and steady the mind with japa of the Panchakshara mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), praying for release from the cycle of birth and death.