Shloka 42

Droṇācārya’s Tapas and the Manifestation of Śiva: The Birth-Grant of Aśvatthāmā (अश्वत्थामा-अवतार-प्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

शिवावतारोऽश्वत्थामा महाबलपराक्रमः । त्रैलोक्यमुखदोऽद्यापि वर्तते जाह्नवीतटे

Transliteration

śivāvatāro'śvatthāmā mahābalaparākramaḥ | trailokyamukhado'dyāpi vartate jāhnavītaṭe

Translation

അശ്വത്ഥാമ ശിവാവതാരമാണ്; മഹാബലവും പരാക്രമവും ഉള്ളവൻ. അവൻ ഇന്നും ജാഹ്നവി (ഗംഗ) തീരത്ത് ത്രൈലോക്യത്തിന് അനുഗ്രഹം പകർന്നു നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു.

Word by Word

• शिव-अवतारः: Śiva’s incarnation
• शिव-अवतारः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + अवतार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘Śiva’s incarnation’

• अश्वत्थामा: Aśvatthāmā
• अश्वत्थामा: Karta (कर्ता/Appositive subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वत्थामन्/अश्वत्थामा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); शिवावतारः इत्यस्य समानाधिकरणम्

• महाबल-पराक्रमः: of great strength and valor
• महाबल-पराक्रमः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + बल (प्रातिपदिक) + पराक्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुष: ‘great strength and valor’ (as an epithet)

• त्रैलोक्य-मुखदः: benefactor of the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्य-मुखदः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रैलोक्य (प्रातिपदिक) + मुखद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘giver of (happiness/benefit) to the three worlds’

• अद्यापि: even now/still
• अद्यापि: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्यापि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb) ‘even today/still’

• वर्तते: remains/exists
• वर्तते: Kriya (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

• जाह्नवी-तटे: on the bank of the Jāhnavī (Ganges)
• जाह्नवी-तटे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाह्नवी (प्रातिपदिक) + तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (तट), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘on the bank of the Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Rudra

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: The verse situates Aśvatthāmā (as Śiva’s avatāra) on the bank of Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā), as an enduring presence who continues to confer auspiciousness—functioning like a living tīrtha rather than a fixed liṅga-sthala.

Significance: Darśana/ स्मरण of the avatāra is said to confer lokamaṅgala (welfare) and grace; the riverbank becomes a merit-field (puṇyakṣetra) through his abiding presence.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Ashvatthama
• Ganga (Jahnavi)

FAQs

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

The verse highlights Śiva’s continuing, compassionate presence in the world through a living manifestation, teaching that divine grace (anugraha) can operate through sacred persons and sacred places like the Gaṅgā, uplifting all three worlds.

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

By presenting Aśvatthāmā as a Śiva-avatāra, the text affirms Saguna Śiva—Śiva approachable through form and presence. Just as the Liṅga is a concrete focus for worship, this manifestation signifies Śiva’s accessible grace in the embodied realm.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is Gaṅgā-tīrtha devotion: reverent remembrance of Śiva, japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and tirtha-snāna with an attitude of purification and surrender to Śiva’s anugraha.