Shloka 6

Devanagari script

ये शृण्वंति सतां निंदां तेषां कर्णप्रपूरणम् । अग्निवर्णैरयःकीलैस्तप्तैस्ताम्रादिनिर्मितैः

Transliteration

ye śṛṇvaṃti satāṃ niṃdāṃ teṣāṃ karṇaprapūraṇam | agnivarṇairayaḥkīlaistaptaistāmrādinirmitaiḥ

Translation

善き人々をそしる言葉に耳を傾ける者は、その罰として、火のごとく赤熱した鉄の釘—銅など諸金属で作られ灼けたもの—で耳を満たされる。

Word by Word

• ye: those who
• ye: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Plural (बहुवचन)

• śṛṇvanti: hear
• śṛṇvanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (श्रु धातु)
• Form: Verb (तिङन्त): Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष) Plural (बहुवचन), Parasmaipada

• satām: of the good/saints
• satām: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (सत् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी) Plural (बहुवचन)

• nindām: slander
• nindām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nindā (निन्दा प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया) Singular (एकवचन)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (षष्ठी) Plural (बहुवचन)

• karṇa-prapūraṇam: the filling of (their) ears
• karṇa-prapūraṇam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karṇa + prapūraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) Singular (एकवचन); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (कर्णयोः प्रपूरणम्)

• agni-varṇaiḥ: with fire-colored
• agni-varṇaiḥ: Karaṇa (करणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: agni + varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (तृतीया) Plural (बहुवचन); विशेषणम् (ayaḥkīlaiḥ); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अग्नेः वर्णः इव)

• ayaḥ-kīlaiḥ: with iron spikes
• ayaḥ-kīlaiḥ: Karaṇa (करणम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayas + kīla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया) Plural (बहुवचन); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अयसोः/अयसः कीलाः)

• taptaiḥ: heated
• taptaiḥ: Karaṇa (करणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tapta (तप्त प्रातिपदिक; √tap)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine/Neuter Instrumental Plural; विशेषणम् (ayaḥkīlaiḥ)

• tāmra-ādi-nirmitaiḥ: made of copper etc.
• tāmra-ādi-nirmitaiḥ: Karaṇa (करणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāmra + ādi + nirmita (प्रातिपदिक; √mā/√nirmā)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine/Neuter Instrumental Plural; विशेषणम् (ayaḥkīlaiḥ); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (ताम्रादिभिः निर्मित)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Shiva Purana teaching as a moral-ethical injunction within the Umāsaṃhitā discourse)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha

Sthala Purana: Kāśī is famed as the kṣetra where speech and hearing are sanctified; this verse’s ‘ear-filling’ punishment inversely highlights the sanctity of śravaṇa (hearing) of sat and Śiva-kathā rather than nindā.

Significance: Right hearing (sat-saṅga, śravaṇa of Śiva-kathā) is upheld as purifying; Kāśī pilgrimage is traditionally linked with liberation-oriented instruction and remembrance.

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that merely listening to the defamation of the virtuous is a grave sin: it pollutes the mind through the ear-gate, obstructs bhakti, and strengthens pāśa (bondage) instead of moving the soul toward Śiva (Pati) and liberation.

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

Linga-worship is grounded in purity of conduct—especially speech and hearing. By rejecting sat-nindā, the devotee safeguards śraddhā and maintains inner śauca, making devotion to Saguna Shiva (and reverence to the Linga as His sacred mark) steady and fruitful.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Practice deliberate restraint of hearing and speech: avoid gatherings that indulge in nindā, adopt a vrata of anindā (non-slander), and redirect the mind to japa of the Panchākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” for purification.