Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 20

वसन्तस्वरूपवर्णनम् — Description of the Form/Nature of Vasant

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Devanagari script

भुवि केचिद्भविष्यंति मायाबद्धा महासुराः । बद्धा केचिद्धरेर्नूनं केचिच्छंभोरुपायतः

Transliteration

bhuvi kecidbhaviṣyaṃti māyābaddhā mahāsurāḥ | baddhā keciddharernūnaṃ kecicchaṃbhorupāyataḥ

Translation

ഭൂമിയിൽ ചില മഹാസുരന്മാർ മായയിൽ ബന്ധിതരായി ഉദ്ഭവിക്കും. ചിലർ നിശ്ചയമായി ഹരി (വിഷ്ണു) യാൽ ബന്ധിക്കപ്പെടും; ചിലർ ശംഭു (ശിവ) യുടെ ഉപായങ്ങളാൽ നിയന്ത്രിക്കപ്പെടും.

Word by Word

• भुवि: on earth
• भुवि: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक: भुव्/भू)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative)

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (अनिश्चित/indefinite pronoun)

• भविष्यन्ति: will be; will come to be
• भविष्यन्ति: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future/लृट्), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• मायाबद्धाः: bound by māyā
• मायाबद्धाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: माया + बद्ध (√बन्ध् धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP)

• महासुराः: great demons
• महासुराः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject-apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + असुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• बद्धाः: bound
• बद्धाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बन्ध् (धातु) → बद्ध (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (indefinite)

• हरेः: of Hari
• हरेः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• नूनम्: surely
• नूनम्: Nishchaya (निश्चय/Certainty)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नूनम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (certainly)

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (indefinite)

• शम्भोः: of Śambhu
• शम्भोः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्भु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• उपायतः: from (his) means/strategy
• उपायतः: Apadana (अपादान/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपाय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादान (ablative: from/by means of)

Speaker

Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Vishnu

FAQs

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

It distinguishes two kinds of bondage: beings deluded by Māyā become asuric, and their restraint occurs through divine governance—sometimes through Hari’s preserving power, and sometimes through Śambhu’s transforming grace (upāya) that ultimately turns bondage into a path toward liberation.

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

Śambhu’s “upāya” implies accessible, saguna means for the bound soul—approaching Shiva through devotion and prescribed worship. In the Shiva Purana, Linga-upāsanā is a central upāya by which Shiva purifies Māyā-bound tendencies and redirects the being toward Shiva-consciousness.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The verse points to taking refuge in Shiva’s upāya: steady bhakti with mantra-japa (especially the Panchākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and regular Shiva-pūjā, as practical disciplines for weakening Māyā’s grip and cultivating inner restraint.