Shloka 63

Dehāśucitā-vicāraḥ

Inquiry into the Impurity of the Body

Devanagari script

अपूर्ववत्स्वमात्मानं जरया परिवर्तितम् । यः पश्यन्नपि रज्येत कोऽन्यस्तस्मादचेतनः

Transliteration

apūrvavatsvamātmānaṃ jarayā parivartitam | yaḥ paśyannapi rajyeta ko'nyastasmādacetanaḥ

Translation

ತನ್ನದೇ ಆತ್ಮಸ್ವರೂಪ ಜರೆಯಿಂದ ಬದಲಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಹಿಂದಿನಂತಿಲ್ಲವೆಂದು ಕಂಡರೂ ಯಾರು ಆಸಕ್ತನಾಗುತ್ತಾನೋ, ಅವನಿಗಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಅಚೇತನ ಇನ್ನಾರು?

Word by Word

• apūrva-vat: as if unprecedented / unlike before
• apūrva-vat: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: apūrva (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (तद्धित-प्रत्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (adverbial ‘like/as if’); formed with -vat

• svam: one’s own
• svam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन; adjective to ‘ātmānam’; Accusative singular

• ātmānam: self
• ātmānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन; Accusative singular

• jarayā: by old age
• jarayā: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचन; Instrumental singular

• pari-vartitam: changed/transformed
• pari-vartitam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari-√vṛt (धातु) + vartita (कृदन्त; क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन; उपसर्गयुक्त-धातु (pari+vṛt) क्त-प्रत्ययान्त past participle; qualifying ‘ātmānam’; Accusative singular

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचन; relative pronoun; Nominative singular

• paśyan: seeing
• paśyan: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paśy (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचन; present active participle ‘seeing’

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-निपात (particle ‘even/also’)

• rajyeta: would be attached/delighted
• rajyeta: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rañj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; Optative 3rd person singular (‘should become attached/delighted’)

• kaḥ: who?
• kaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचन; interrogative pronoun; Nominative singular

• anyaḥ: other
• anyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचन; Nominative singular (in apposition to ‘kaḥ’)

• tasmāt: than that / from him
• tasmāt: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे पञ्चमी एकवचन; Ablative singular (‘than/from that’)

• acetanaḥ: unconscious/insensible
• acetanaḥ: Pradhana-visheshana (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-cetana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचन; नञ्-युक्त (a- ‘not’ + cetana ‘conscious’); Nominative singular

Speaker

Lord Shiva

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: Promotes self-inquiry (ātma-parīkṣā) as pilgrimage of discernment; prepares the aspirant for Śiva’s grace that removes delusion.

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches vairāgya: even after witnessing the body’s inevitable decay, clinging to it is a mark of spiritual unconsciousness; the wise turn toward Pati (Shiva) rather than remaining bound as paśu by pasha (attachment).

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

By exposing the unreliability of the aging body, the verse redirects devotion to the enduring refuge—Saguna Shiva worship (including Linga worship) as a disciplined means to transcend bondage and realize Shiva’s liberating grace.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Practice daily japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with contemplation on impermanence, supported by Shaiva disciplines like bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa to strengthen detachment and steady awareness.