Shiva Purana — Vidyesvara Samhita, Shloka 81

बन्धमोक्षवर्णनम्

Bondage and Liberation: The Prakṛti–Karma Wheel and Śiva as the Transcendent Cause

Devanagari script

भस्म वै शिवमंत्रेण धृत्वा ह्यत्याश्रमी भवेत् । शिवाश्रमीति संप्रोक्तः शिवैकपरमो यतः

Transliteration

bhasma vai śivamaṃtreṇa dhṛtvā hyatyāśramī bhavet | śivāśramīti saṃproktaḥ śivaikaparamo yataḥ

Translation

ಶಿವಮಂತ್ರದಿಂದ ಭಸ್ಮವನ್ನು ಧರಿಸಿದವನು ಎಲ್ಲ (ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ) ಆಶ್ರಮಸ್ಥಿತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಮೀರಿ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಾನೆ; ಅವನ ಏಕೈಕ ಪರಮಾಶ್ರಯ ಶಿವನೇ ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಅವನು ‘ಶಿವಾಶ್ರಮಿ’ ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತಾನೆ।

Word by Word

• भस्म: sacred ash
• भस्म: कर्म (Karma/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भस्मन्/भस्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: सम्बन्ध (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात: emphasis ‘indeed’)

• शिव-मन्त्रेण: with the Śiva-mantra
• शिव-मन्त्रेण: करण (Karaṇa/instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + मन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी: ‘शिवस्य मन्त्रः’), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• धृत्वा: having worn/applied
• धृत्वा: पूर्वकाल-क्रिया (prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव

• हि: indeed
• हि: सम्बन्ध (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात: emphasis)

• अति-आश्रमी: a great ascetic (very āśramī)
• अति-आश्रमी: कर्ता (Kartā/subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + आश्रमिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (अति + आश्रमी), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भावे ‘अत्यन्त-आश्रमी’

• भवेत्: would become/should become
• भवेत्: क्रिया (action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• शिव-आश्रमी: a ‘Śiva-āśramī’
• शिव-आश्रमी: सम्ज्ञा/विषय (appellation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + आश्रमिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (शिवः आश्रमी इव/शिवसम्बन्धी आश्रमी), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; इति-शब्देन नामनिर्देश

• इति: thus
• इति: सम्बन्ध (quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्धरण/quotative particle)

• सम्प्रोक्तः: is declared/called
• सम्प्रोक्तः: क्रिया (predicate: passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + प्र + वच् (धातु) → प्रोक्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग: ‘has been declared’

• शिव-एक-परमः: having Śiva alone as the supreme (devotion)
• शिव-एक-परमः: हेतु/विशेषण (reason/qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + एक (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (उपपद-समास: ‘शिव एव एकः परमः यस्य’/‘शिवे एकपरमः’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘(सः)’ विशेषणम्

• यतः: because
• यतः: हेतु (Hetu/cause)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (हेतौ/causal: ‘because/since’)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Īśāna

Mantra Metadata

Type: panchakshara

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that wearing bhasma with Shiva-mantra is not merely external ritual; it signifies exclusive surrender to Pati (Shiva), placing the devotee beyond worldly identity and status, oriented toward liberation.

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

Bhasma-dhāraṇa is a visible mark of Saguna Shiva-bhakti that supports inner remembrance; it aligns the body and mind as instruments of Linga-worship and steady Shiva-smarana (constant recollection).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Apply bhasma (often as Tripuṇḍra) while reciting a Shiva-mantra (commonly the Panchakshara, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), cultivating the vow of single-pointed devotion to Shiva.