Shloka 50

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

Devanagari script

ऊर्ध्वकेशं महाश्मश्रुमूर्ध्वप्रस्फुरिताधरम् । अष्टादशभुजं क्रुद्धं नीलांजनचयोपमम्

Transliteration

ūrdhvakeśaṃ mahāśmaśrumūrdhvaprasphuritādharam | aṣṭādaśabhujaṃ kruddhaṃ nīlāṃjanacayopamam

Translation

ಅವನ ಕೂದಲು ಮೇಲಕ್ಕೆ ನಿಂತಿತ್ತು; ಮಹಾದಾಡಿ ಇತ್ತು; ತುಟಿಗಳು ಮೇಲಕ್ಕೆ ಕಂಪಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ಹದಿನೆಂಟು ಭುಜಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕ್ರುದ್ಧನಾಗಿ, ಗಾಢ ನೀಲಾಂಜನದ ಗುಚ್ಛದಂತೆ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿದ್ದನು।

Word by Word

• ऊर्ध्वकेशम्: with hair standing upright
• ऊर्ध्वकेशम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्ध्व-केश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (ऊर्ध्वाः केशाः यस्य)

• महाश्मश्रु: with a great beard
• महाश्मश्रु: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा-श्मश्रु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (महत् श्मश्रु यस्य)

• मूर्ध्वप्रस्फुरिताधरम्: with the lower lip quivering upward
• मूर्ध्वप्रस्फुरिताधरम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूर्ध्व-प्रस्फुरित-अधर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (मूर्ध्वं प्रस्फुरितः अधरः यस्य)

• अष्टादशभुजम्: eighteen-armed
• अष्टादशभुजम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टादश-भुज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः द्विगुः (अष्टादश भुजाः यस्य)

• क्रुद्धम्: angry
• क्रुद्धम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √क्रुध् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• नीलाञ्जनचयोपमम्: like a heap of blue collyrium
• नीलाञ्जनचयोपमम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नील-अञ्जन-चय-उपम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नीलाञ्जनस्य चयः) + उपम (उपमा-सम्बन्धः: ‘like a heap of…’)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Kālabhairava

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse contemplates an intense, wrathful (ugra) manifestation whose terrifying features symbolize Shiva’s power to dissolve ego, fear, and bondage (pāśa), pushing the pashu (bound soul) toward surrender and inner purification.

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

It supports Saguna-upāsanā: meditating on Shiva’s vivid form steadies the mind and awakens devotion; through such form-based worship one is led to the deeper truth of Shiva as the transcendent Pati, ultimately realized beyond form (Nirguna) while still approachable through the Linga.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is dhyāna on Shiva’s formidable form while repeating the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), supported by simple Shaiva observances like applying Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and cultivating fearlessness and self-control.