Shloka 52

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

Devanagari script

रक्तमाल्यांबरधरं महामेरुमिवोच्छ्रितम् । प्रलयाम्बुदनिर्घोषं पिबन्निव महोदधिम्

Transliteration

raktamālyāṃbaradharaṃ mahāmerumivocchritam | pralayāmbudanirghoṣaṃ pibanniva mahodadhim

Translation

ಅವನು ರಕ್ತಮಾಲೆ ಮತ್ತು ರಕ್ತವಸ್ತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಧರಿಸಿ, ಮಹಾಮೇರುವಿನಂತೆ ಎತ್ತರವಾಗಿ ನಿಂತ; ಪ್ರಳಯಮೇಘಗಳ ಗರ್ಜನೆಯಂತೆ ಘೋಷಿಸಿ, ಮಹಾಸಮುದ್ರವನ್ನೇ ಕುಡಿಯುವವನಂತೆ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿದ್ದನು।

Word by Word

• रक्तमाल्याम्बरधरम्: wearing red garlands and garments
• रक्तमाल्याम्बरधरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रक्त + माल्य + अम्बर + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (acc. sg. n.)

• महामेरुम्: the great Meru (mountain)
• महामेरुम्: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामेरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• इव: like/as
• इव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (particle of comparison)

• उच्छ्रितम्: lofty/raised high
• उच्छ्रितम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद् + श्रि (धातु) → उच्छ्रित (प्रातिपदिक; क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• प्रलयाम्बुदनिर्घोषम्: roaring like the clouds at dissolution
• प्रलयाम्बुदनिर्घोषम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रलय + अम्बुद + निर्घोष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• पिबन्: drinking
• पिबन्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; परस्मैपदी

• इव: as if
• इव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (particle of comparison)

• महोदधिम्: the great ocean
• महोदधिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + उदधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the Lord of Time who subdues death and presides over dissolution; the verse’s pralaya-thunder and ocean-drinking imagery resonates with Mahākāla’s kṣaya (time-devouring) sovereignty rather than a specific local origin episode.

Significance: Worship is sought for protection from untimely death, fear of time, and for steadiness amid change; a contemplative turning toward the timeless Pati beyond kāla.

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: pralaya

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse magnifies Shiva’s sovereign might: even the forces of pralaya (dissolution) are within His command. In Shaiva Siddhanta, this points to Pati (Shiva) as the Lord who transcends and governs creation, preservation, and dissolution, inspiring awe-filled devotion and surrender.

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

The imagery is Saguna—Shiva with perceivable attributes—so devotees can anchor the mind in a vivid form. Such contemplation ripens into steadiness in Linga-worship, where the same Lord is adored as the all-pervading Reality, beyond form yet graciously approachable through form.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as the master of pralaya—steady breath and mind while mentally repeating the Panchakshara (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”). Offer water to the Linga as a symbolic reversal of “ocean-drinking,” affirming that all elements are returned to Him in worship.