Shloka 31

नरकनामनिर्णयः

Catalogue of Narakas and Karmic Causes

Devanagari script

माहेश्वरमवाप्नोति मध्याह्नादिषु संस्मरन् । प्रातर्निशि च संध्यायां क्षीणपापो भवेन्नरः

Transliteration

māheśvaramavāpnoti madhyāhnādiṣu saṃsmaran | prātarniśi ca saṃdhyāyāṃ kṣīṇapāpo bhavennaraḥ

Translation

正午および他の聖なる時の結節—暁、夜、そして黄昏—においてマヘーシュヴァラ（主シヴァ）を憶念するなら、人はマヘーシュヴァラの境地に至り、罪は尽きて清められる。

Word by Word

• māheśvaram: the Māheśvara state/realm (of Śiva)
• māheśvaram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māheśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; object of avāpnoti

• avāpnoti: attains
• avāpnoti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-√āp (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• madhyāhna-ādiṣu: at midday and other (times)
• madhyāhna-ādiṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/सप्तमी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhyāhna + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th), Plural; compound: madhyāhnaḥ ādiḥ yeṣām (मध्याह्न-आदि) meaning ‘midday etc.’

• saṃsmaran: remembering
• saṃsmaran: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-√smṛ (धातु) + śatṛ (शतृ)
• Form: Present active participle (वर्तमान कृदन्त/शतृ), Masculine, Nominative, Singular; agreeing with naraḥ

• prātaḥ: in the morning
• prātaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prātaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (कालवाचक अव्यय)

• niśi: at night
• niśi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/सप्तमी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative (7th), Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• saṃdhyāyām: at twilight
• saṃdhyāyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/सप्तमी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃdhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative (7th), Singular

• kṣīṇa-pāpaḥ: whose sin is destroyed
• kṣīṇa-pāpaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣīṇa (√kṣi (धातु) + क्त) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; compound adjective meaning ‘sin-diminished’; agrees with naraḥ

• bhavet: would become
• bhavet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: Optative (विधिलिङ्), 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s time-based remembrance practice as taught in the Uma Samhita discourse)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not a jyotirliṅga-specific passage; it prescribes kāla-sandhi smaraṇa (dawn, midday, twilight, night) as a daily sādhana culminating in Māheśvara-bhāva (attainment of Śiva’s state).

Significance: Transforms daily time-junctions into ‘inner tīrthas’: regular remembrance at sandhyās is said to exhaust sins and orient the pilgrim toward Śiva-nature (māheśvaratva).

Mantra Metadata

Type: panchakshara

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Ritual Elements

Offering: dipa

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Sandhyā-kāla (junction-times) treated as spiritually potent thresholds for purification and grace

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that disciplined remembrance (smaraṇa) of Śiva at key daily junctions purifies karmic impurities (pāpa) and leads toward union/attainment of the Lord (māheśvaratva), aligning with the Shaiva view of Pati’s grace removing bondage.

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

Remembering Śiva at sandhyā-times naturally supports Saguna worship—such as Linga-darśana, japa, and offering water—because time-junctions are prescribed moments when devotion becomes concentrated and receptive to Śiva’s grace.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Perform sandhyā-time Śiva-smaraṇa: brief dhyāna and japa (e.g., Pañcākṣarī ‘Om Namaḥ Śivāya’), optionally with Tripuṇḍra bhasma and Rudrākṣa, especially at dawn and twilight for steady purification.