Shloka 36

Viśveśvara-māhātmya and the Nirguṇa–Saguṇa Emergence of Śiva (Śakti–Puruṣa/Prakṛti Discourse)

Devanagari script

काश्यां पुर्यां त्वया देव राजधानी प्रगृह्यताम् । मया ध्यानतया स्थेयमचिंत्य सुखहेतवे

Transliteration

kāśyāṃ puryāṃ tvayā deva rājadhānī pragṛhyatām | mayā dhyānatayā stheyamaciṃtya sukhahetave

Translation

ഹേ ദേവാ! കാശീനഗരിയിൽ നീ രാജസിംഹാസനം സ്വീകരിക്കണമേ. ഞാൻ അചിന്ത്യാനന്ദത്തിന്റെ ഹേതുവായി ധ്യാനത്തിൽ സ്ഥിരനായി നിലകൊള്ളും.

Word by Word

• काश्याम्: in Kāśī
• काश्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• पुर्याम्: in the city
• पुर्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; काश्याम् इति विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव/सम्बन्ध

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Kartr̥-karaṇa (कर्तृकरण/Agent-instrumental)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम

• देव: O god
• देव: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• राजधानी: the capital
• राजधानी: Karma (कर्म/Object; with passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजधानी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• प्र-गृह्यताम्: let (it) be accepted/assumed
• प्र-गृह्यताम्: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; ‘let it be accepted/taken’

• मया: by me
• मया: Kartr̥-karaṇa (कर्तृकरण/Agent-instrumental)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम

• ध्यानतया: by (my) meditative absorption
• ध्यानतया: Karaṇa (करण/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यानता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; भाववाचक (state/means)

• स्थेयम्: (it) should be stayed/maintained
• स्थेयम्: Kriya (क्रिया/Obligation)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त: विधिलिङ्-अर्थक-भाव्य/अनादेश (gerundive/obligative) नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘to be remained/should be stayed’

• अचिन्त्य: inconceivable
• अचिन्त्य: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अचिन्त्य (कृदन्त; √चिन्त् धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त-विशेषण (gerundive sense ‘unthinkable’), अव्ययवत्/प्रातिपदिकवत् प्रयोग; here as qualifier

• सुख-हेतवे: for the cause of happiness
• सुख-हेतवे: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/Dative purpose)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक) + हेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; प्रयोजन/सम्प्रदानार्थ

Speaker

Parvati (addressing Lord Shiva, inferred from Kotirudra context on Kāśī and Shiva’s abode)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha

Sthala Purana: Pārvatī petitions Śiva to accept Kāśī as His royal seat (rājadhānī) for the welfare of beings; Śiva’s abiding presence sanctifies Kāśī as the supreme kṣetra where liberation is specially accessible.

Significance: Darśana and worship of Viśvanātha in Kāśī is held to confer swift spiritual uplift and mokṣa-oriented saṃskāra; Kāśī is treated as an anugraha-kṣetra where Śiva’s grace is foregrounded.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Kashi

FAQs

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

The verse links Kāśī with Shiva’s sovereign presence (Pati) and shows that abiding in dhyāna oriented to Shiva yields “inconceivable bliss,” pointing to grace-born inner freedom rather than mere worldly pleasure.

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

Kāśī is celebrated in the Kotirudrasaṃhitā as a supreme Shaiva tirtha where Saguna Shiva is worshipped—especially through the Jyotirlinga tradition—while meditation internalizes that same Lord as the indwelling reality.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The takeaway is steady dhyāna on Shiva: combine japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with Linga-darśana/abhisheka, and sustain inward contemplation to taste the ‘aciṃtya sukha’ described.