Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 27

कौशिकी-गौरी तथा शार्दूलरूप-निशाचरस्य पूर्वकर्मवर्णनम् | Kauśikī-Gaurī and Brahmā’s account of the tiger-formed niśācara

Devanagari script

व्याकुलं बहुधा दीनं विलापमिव कुर्वतः । सखीभ्यः कथयंत्येवं सत्त्वरा भर्तृदर्शने

Transliteration

vyākulaṃ bahudhā dīnaṃ vilāpamiva kurvataḥ | sakhībhyaḥ kathayaṃtyevaṃ sattvarā bhartṛdarśane

Translation

ഭർത്താവിനെ കണ്ട ഉടൻ അവൾ അത്യന്തം വ്യാകുലയായി; വീണ്ടും വീണ്ടും ദീനാവസ്ഥയിൽ വീണു, ഉച്ചത്തിൽ വിലപിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ തോന്നി. അതേ നിലയിൽ തന്നെ അവൾ വേഗത്തിൽ സഖിമാരോട് ഈ വാക്കുകൾ പറഞ്ഞു.

Word by Word

• vyākulam: agitated, distressed
• vyākulam: Karma (कर्म) / viśeṣaṇa of implied action
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyākula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Dvitīyā (2nd/द्वितीया), Ekavacana (एकवचन); used adverbially as predicate/qualifier

• bahudhā: in many ways, repeatedly
• bahudhā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bahudhā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• dīnam: wretched, pitiable
• dīnam: Karma (कर्म) / viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; qualifier

• vilāpam: lamentation, wailing
• vilāpam: Upamāna/Upameya-bhāva (उपमान) with iva; object-like descriptor
• Type: Noun
• Root: vilāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana

• iva: like, as if
• iva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध) / comparison marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; upamā-vācaka particle (उपमावाचक)

• kurvataḥ: of (one) doing/making
• kurvataḥ: Kartṛ-sambandha (कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: Śatṛ-pratyaya present active participle (वर्तमानकाले शतृ), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Ekavacana; Puṃliṅga/napuṃsaka possible by context; ‘of (one) doing/making’

• sakhībhyaḥ: to (her) female friends
• sakhībhyaḥ: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sakhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Caturthī (4th/चतुर्थी) or Pañcamī (5th/पञ्चमी), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन); here likely Dative ‘to the friends’

• kathayanti: they tell, narrate
• kathayanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathaya (कथय धातु, causative of kath)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (लट्, present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Bahuvacana; parasmaipada

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; manner adverb (प्रकारवाचक)

• sattvarāḥ: swift, hurried (women)
• sattvarāḥ: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sattvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana; adjective used as noun ‘the quick/impetuous (women)’

• bhartṛ-darśane: at/for the sight of (her) husband
• bhartṛ-darśane: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhartṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Saptamī (7th/सप्तमी), Ekavacana; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa ‘darśana of the husband’

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Umāpati

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Tryambakeśvara

Sthala Purana: Tryambaka is strongly linked with the ‘three-eyed’ Lord and with narratives of darśana and longing; this verse’s bhartṛ-darśana (seeing the husband) aligns thematically with seeking Śiva’s presence culminating in darśana.

Significance: Darśana as transformative: the devotee’s agitation/longing is resolved through proximity to Śiva, ripening toward anugraha.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: nurturing

FAQs

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

The verse highlights the inner turbulence of the jīva when it longs for its true refuge; in Shaiva Siddhanta, such intense longing can mature into bhakti that turns the mind away from worldly supports and toward Pati (the Lord) as the only shelter.

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

Though not naming the Liṅga directly, the mood is that of seeking immediate darśana of the Lord in a graspable form; Saguna Shiva—worshipped as the Liṅga and through temple darśana—becomes the compassionate means by which the devotee’s agitation is calmed and devotion is stabilized.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The practical takeaway is to convert emotional agitation into focused remembrance: japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and steady dhyāna on Shiva’s form (or the Liṅga) until the mind settles into devotion rather than lament.