Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 32

शङ्खचूडवधकथनम् / The Account of Śaṅkhacūḍa’s Slaying

Devanagari script

सुदामानाम गोपो यो कृष्णस्य पार्षदाग्रणीः । तस्या गर्भे विवेशासौ राधाशप्तश्च यन्मुने

Transliteration

sudāmānāma gopo yo kṛṣṇasya pārṣadāgraṇīḥ | tasyā garbhe viveśāsau rādhāśaptaśca yanmune

Translation

ഹേ മുനേ! സുദാമാ എന്ന ആ ഗോപൻ, കൃഷ്ണന്റെ പാർഷദന്മാരിൽ അഗ്രഗണ്യൻ; രാധയുടെ ശാപം മൂലം അവളുടെ ഗർഭത്തിൽ പ്രവേശിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• sudāmā: Sudāmā
• sudāmā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sudāmā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• nāma: by name
• nāma: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (नाम-प्रयोग) indicating name/appellation

• gopaḥ: cowherd
• gopaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; apposition to sudāmā

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Relative pronoun; Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• kṛṣṇasya: of Krishna
• kṛṣṇasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Singular

• pārṣada-agraṇīḥ: leader among (Krishna’s) attendants
• pārṣada-agraṇīḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārṣada (प्रातिपदिक) + agraṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष — ‘pārṣadānām agraṇīḥ’; Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun; Feminine, Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Singular

• garbhe: in the womb
• garbhe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular

• viveśa: entered
• viveśa: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: viś (धातु) + vi (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• asau: that one / he
• asau: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Demonstrative pronoun; Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• rādhā-śaptaḥ: cursed by Rādhā
• rādhā-śaptaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rādhā (प्रातिपदिक) + śapta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त from śap)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष — ‘rādhayā śaptaḥ’ (cursed by Rādhā); Masculine, Nominative, Singular; विशेषण of asau

• ca: and
• ca: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• yat: which / that
• yat: —
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Relative pronoun; Neuter, Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular; used idiomatically with vocative: ‘since/whereas/that’ in address

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (सम्बोधन/8), Singular

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Characters & Entities

• Sudāmā
• Kṛṣṇa
• Rādhā

FAQs

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

It highlights the Purāṇic principle that embodied birth can arise from karmic causes such as a śāpa (curse), illustrating how the bound soul (paśu) is drawn into embodiment through pāśa (binding conditions) until liberated by right knowledge and grace.

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

Though the verse narrates a Vaiṣṇava-associated figure, the Shiva Purana uses such episodes to underscore the universality of karmic law and the need for refuge in Saguna Shiva—worship of the Liṅga, mantra, and devotion—so that binding causes like śāpa and saṃsāra are transcended.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is to reduce karmic bondage through Shaiva sādhanā—daily japa of the Pañcākṣarī ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya"), Liṅga-pūjā with bhakti, and purificatory disciplines such as bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and Rudrākṣa—cultivating inner steadiness beyond the push of fate and curse.