Shloka 17

Munipraśna-varṇana

Description of the Sages’ Inquiry

Devanagari script

अदयाः पंडितं मन्यास्स्वाचारव्रतलोपकाः । कृष्युद्यमरताः क्रूरस्वभावा मलिनाशयाः

Transliteration

adayāḥ paṃḍitaṃ manyāssvācāravratalopakāḥ | kṛṣyudyamaratāḥ krūrasvabhāvā malināśayāḥ

Translation

അവർ കരുണയില്ലാത്തവർ; എന്നിട്ടും തങ്ങളെ പണ്ഡിതരെന്ന് കരുതുന്നു. സദാചാരവും വ്രതങ്ങളും ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് കൃഷിയിലും ലോകിക പരിശ്രമങ്ങളിലും മാത്രം ലീനരായി; സ്വഭാവം ക്രൂരവും അന്തഃകരണം മലിനവും.

Word by Word

• अदयाः: merciless
• अदयाः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + दया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुषभाव (a-dāyāḥ = without compassion)

• पंडितम्: a scholar
• पंडितम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पंडित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• मन्याः: (they) consider (themselves)
• मन्याः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √मन् (धातु) + य (प्रत्यय) → मन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; ‘one who thinks/considers (himself)’ (agent-noun)

• स्वाचारव्रतलोपकाः: destroyers of their own conduct and vows
• स्वाचारव्रतलोपकाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व + आचार + व्रत + लोपक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; ‘स्व-आचार-व्रत-लोपक’ = destroyers of their own conduct and vows

• कृष्युद्यमरताः: engaged in farming and worldly enterprise
• कृष्युद्यमरताः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृषि + उद्यम + रत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास: ‘कृषि-उद्यम’ (farming and enterprise) + रत (attached to)

• क्रूरस्वभावाः: of cruel nature
• क्रूरस्वभावाः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रूर + स्वभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘क्रूरः स्वभावः येषाम्/क्रूर-स्वभाव’

• मलिनाशयाः: with impure intentions
• मलिनाशयाः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मलिन + आशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘मलिनः आशयः’ = impure intention/mind

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha

Sthala Purana: The Kāśī-centered narrative uses ethical inversion (cruelty, vow-breaking) to highlight the need for Śiva’s purifying presence in Avimukta, where inner intent (āśaya) is rectified through devotion and grace.

Significance: Kāśī pilgrimage is portrayed as a purifier of intention and conduct, turning harshness into compassion through Śiva-bhakti and satsanga.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It critiques false religiosity—people who claim learning while lacking compassion and inner purity. In Shaiva thought, true knowledge ripens into dayā (compassion), śuddha-antaḥkaraṇa (purified mind), and devotion to Shiva, not merely outward activity.

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

Linga-worship is not validated by status or self-proclaimed scholarship; it demands inner cleanliness and dharmic conduct. Saguna Shiva, approached through the Linga, is pleased by sincerity, restraint, and compassion rather than harshness and hypocrisy.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is to pair daily Shiva-japa—especially the Panchakshara mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—with vrata-discipline and ethical purification (non-cruelty, compassion), so worship becomes inwardly transformative.