Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 23

बाणस्य शोकः शिवस्मरणं च — Bāṇa’s Grief and the Turn to Śiva-Remembrance

Devanagari script

त्वं ब्रह्म परमात्मा हि सर्वव्याप्यखिलेश्वरः । ब्रह्मांडतनुरुग्रेशो विराट् सर्वान्वितः परः

Transliteration

tvaṃ brahma paramātmā hi sarvavyāpyakhileśvaraḥ | brahmāṃḍatanurugreśo virāṭ sarvānvitaḥ paraḥ

Translation

നീ തന്നെയാണ് ബ്രഹ്മം, പരമാത്മാവ്, സർവ്വവ്യാപിയും അഖിലേശ്വരനും. ഹേ ഉഗ്രേശാ! ബ്രഹ്മാണ്ഡം തന്നെയാണ് നിന്റെ ദേഹം; നീ വിരാട് സ്വരൂപൻ, സർവ്വസമന്വിതൻ, സർവ്വത്തിനപ്പുറം പരമൻ।

Word by Word

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• brahma: Brahman
• brahma: Pradhāna-nāma/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• parama-ātmā: the Supreme Self
• parama-ātmā: Pradhāna-nāma/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); समासः: परमः आत्मा

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha-bodhaka (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) emphasizing/indeed

• sarva-vyāpī-akhila-īśvaraḥ: all-pervading lord of all
• sarva-vyāpī-akhila-īśvaraḥ: Pradhāna-nāma/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + व्यापिन् + अखिल + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); बहुपद-समासः: सर्वव्यापी च अखिलेश्वरः च (determinative chain)

• brahmāṇḍa-tanuḥ-ugra-īśaḥ: the fierce lord whose body is the universe-egg
• brahmāṇḍa-tanuḥ-ugra-īśaḥ: Pradhāna-nāma/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्माण्ड + तनु + उग्र + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); बहुव्रीहिः: ब्रह्माण्डं तनुः यस्य सः (whose body is the cosmos) + उग्रेशः (fierce lord)

• virāṭ: Virāṭ (the cosmic form)
• virāṭ: Pradhāna-nāma/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विराज्/विराट् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• sarva-anvitaḥ: endowed with all
• sarva-anvitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + अन्वित (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); समासः: सर्वैः अन्वितः = endowed with all

• paraḥ: supreme, transcendent
• paraḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

A deity or chief warrior in the Yuddha narrative offering a stuti (hymn of praise) to Lord Shiva

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse identifies Shiva as both transcendent (Para Brahman/Paramatma) and immanent (all-pervading Virāṭ), teaching that liberation comes from recognizing Him as the Supreme Lord who pervades all beings and worlds.

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

Calling Shiva ‘Akhileśvara’ and ‘Brahmāṇḍa-tanu’ supports Saguna worship (a personal Lord who rules and manifests the cosmos), while ‘Brahman’ and ‘Paramātmā’ affirm the Linga’s deeper meaning as the sign of the formless, all-pervading Reality.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as the all-pervading Self while chanting the Panchākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and offer simple Linga-pūjā with the inner contemplation: “Shiva alone is within and beyond all.”