Shloka 27

नरकलोकमार्गयमदूतस्वरूपवर्णनम् / Description of the Path to Naraka and the Nature of Yama’s Messengers

Devanagari script

विषमेणैव महता निर्जनापाश्रयेण च । तमोरूपेण कष्टेन सर्वदुष्टाश्रयेण च

Transliteration

viṣameṇaiva mahatā nirjanāpāśrayeṇa ca | tamorūpeṇa kaṣṭena sarvaduṣṭāśrayeṇa ca

Translation

まことにそこは恐ろしく危うい場所である。広大にして人影なく、孤独な避難所のごとく、苦しみを帯びた闇に満ち、あらゆる悪しきものの住処となっている。

Word by Word

विषमेणuneven, difficult

एवindeed

महताgreat, very (intense)

निर्जनापाश्रयेणhaving no refuge of people / without human shelter

चand

तमोरूपेणdark in form

कष्टेनpainful, harsh

सर्वदुष्टाश्रयेणa resort of all wicked beings

चand

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Bhairava

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: destructive

Characters & Entities

Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse describes a tamasic, painful state of existence—symbolic of pasha (bondage) where consciousness is covered by darkness and drawn toward unwholesome supports; Shaiva Siddhanta reads this as the soul’s condition when separated from Shiva’s grace and right knowledge.

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

Such descriptions contrast the refuge of darkness with the true refuge—Saguna Shiva in the Linga—whose worship purifies tamas and redirects the soul from duṣṭa-āśraya (wrong supports) to Shiva as the supreme āśraya (shelter).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is tamas-shamana: daily japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), wearing Rudraksha with devotion, and applying Tripundra (bhasma) to cultivate purity and steadiness away from dark influences.