Shloka 41

देवसान्त्वनम् (Devasāntvana) — “Consolation/Reassurance of the Gods”

Devanagari script

अन्यथा मोहतस्तस्य किं कामाच्च प्रयोजनम् । विकारेणापि केनाशु मायालिप्तो न स प्रभुः

Transliteration

anyathā mohatastasya kiṃ kāmācca prayojanam | vikāreṇāpi kenāśu māyālipto na sa prabhuḥ

Translation

അല്ലെങ്കിൽ, മോഹാതീതനായ അവനു കാമനയ്ക്ക് എന്ത് പ്രയോജനം? ഏതു വികാരത്താൽ ആ പരമപ്രഭു വേഗത്തിൽ മായയിൽ ലിപ്തനാകുമോ?

Word by Word

• anyathā: otherwise
• anyathā: Hetu (कारण) / Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• mohataḥ: from delusion
• mohataḥ: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: moha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular; तसिल्-प्रत्ययार्थे ‘-तः’ (from)

• tasya: of him/that
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• kim: what?
• kim: Prayojana (प्रयोजन) / Viśeṣya (विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular; interrogative pronoun (प्रश्नवाचक)

• kāmāt: from desire
• kāmāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)

• prayojanam: purpose, use
• prayojanam: Karta (कर्ता) / Karma (कर्म) (contextual: ‘what purpose (is there)?’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular

• vikāreṇa: by/with a modification (change)
• vikāreṇa: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vikāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• api: even, also
• api: Sambandha (निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (निपात), concessive/emphatic

• kena: by what? by whom?
• kena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; interrogative

• āśu: quickly
• āśu: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: āśu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• māyā-liptaḥ: smeared/tainted by māyā
• māyā-liptaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of ‘sa prabhuḥ’
• Type: Adjective
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक) + lipta (कृदन्त; √lip (लिप्) past participle)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘māyayā liptaḥ’; lipta = past passive participle (क्त/कृदन्त), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), negation particle (निषेध)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• prabhuḥ: the Lord, master
• prabhuḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (predicate nominative with ‘saḥ’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Maya

FAQs

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

The verse asserts Shiva as Pati (the Supreme Lord) who is intrinsically beyond moha (delusion) and kāma (desire). In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, Māyā can bind the pashu (individual soul) through limitations and impurities, but it can never stain the Lord who is eternally free and complete.

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

Linga worship points to Shiva’s transcendence—form indicating the formless. Even when devotees approach Saguna Shiva through icon, linga, mantra, and puja, this verse reminds them that the deity is not a conditioned being subject to passion or change; the forms are compassionate means of grace, not limitations imposed by Māyā.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as Māyātīta (beyond Māyā) while repeating the Panchākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and cultivate dispassion (vairāgya) toward kāma and moha. The practical takeaway is to worship with purity and steadiness, remembering that liberation comes by Shiva’s grace, not by worldly modifications.