Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 17

शुक्रनिग्रहः — The Seizure/Neutralization of Śukra (Kāvya) and the Daityas’ Despondency

Devanagari script

ये स्वामिनं विहायातो बहुमानधना जनाः । यांति ते यांति नियतमंधतामिस्रमालयम्

Transliteration

ye svāminaṃ vihāyāto bahumānadhanā janāḥ | yāṃti te yāṃti niyatamaṃdhatāmisramālayam

Translation

സ്വാമിയെ ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് മാനവും ധനവും കൊണ്ടുള്ള അഹങ്കാരത്തിൽ അവനിൽ നിന്ന് വിമുഖരാകുന്നവർ നിശ്ചയമായും അന്ധതാമിസ്ര (അന്ധകാര) ലോകത്തിലേക്ക് പോകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• ye: those who
• ye: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• svāminam: the master/lord
• svāminam: Apādāna (अपादान/one abandoned)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svāmin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• vihāya: having abandoned
• vihāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/gerundial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√hā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having abandoned’

• ātāḥ: having come / who have gone away
• ātāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√i (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘come/arrived’

• bahu-māna-dhanāḥ: (people) with much honor and wealth
• bahu-māna-dhanāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/qualifier of जनाः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + māna (प्रातिपदिक) + dhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (बहुं मानं धनं च येषाम्/बहुमानधनाः)

• janāḥ: people
• janāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• yānti: go
• yānti: Kriyā (क्रिया/verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; संकेत/अन्वयार्थक सर्वनाम (demonstrative pronoun)

• yānti: go
• yānti: Kriyā (क्रिया/verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• niyatam: certainly/inevitably
• niyatam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/adverbial)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niyata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणार्थे (adverbially: ‘certainly/inevitably’)

• andha-tāmisra-ālayam: the abode of Andhatāmisra (hell)
• andha-tāmisra-ālayam: Karma (कर्म/Object of यान्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: andha (प्रातिपदिक) + tāmisra (प्रातिपदिक) + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (अन्धतामिस्रस्य आलयः)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Shiva Purana account to the sages, Rudrasaṃhitā context)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It warns that abandoning Shiva (Pati), while clinging to ego, status, and wealth, leads to inner blindness—symbolized as Andhatāmisra—because the soul (paśu) remains bound by pāśas like pride and attachment rather than turning toward grace and liberation.

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

In Shaiva practice, the Śiva-liṅga is a tangible focus for devotion and surrender. Rejecting the Lord while exalting worldly honor is the opposite of liṅga-upāsanā, which trains the mind to bow, offer, and remember Shiva as the true refuge beyond transient wealth.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Cultivate humility through daily Shiva-pūjā—offer water to the liṅga, wear tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as a reminder of impermanence, and repeat the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” to dissolve pride and reorient the mind toward Shiva.