Shiva Purana — Kotirudra Samhita, Shloka 66

Niṣādasya Bhillasya Itihāsaḥ — Śivarātri-vrata-prabhāvaḥ

The Hunter’s Account and the Efficacy of the Śivarātri Observance

Devanagari script

असंपूज्य शिवं भस्मरहितश्चान्नभुक् च यः । एतेषां पातकं मे स्यान्नागच्छेयं पुनर्यदि

Transliteration

asaṃpūjya śivaṃ bhasmarahitaścānnabhuk ca yaḥ | eteṣāṃ pātakaṃ me syānnāgaccheyaṃ punaryadi

Translation

«သခင်ရှီဝကို အရင်မပူဇော်ဘဲ အစာစားမိလျှင်၊ သို့မဟုတ် သန့်ရှင်းသော ဘတ်စမာ (bhasma) မလိမ်းဘဲ အစာစားမိလျှင်၊ ထိုအပြစ်၏ အကုသိုလ်သည် ငါ့အပေါ် ကျရောက်ပါစေ—ထိုသို့သော အခြေအနေသို့ နောက်တစ်ဖန် မပြန်ရပါစေနှင့်»။

Word by Word

• असंपूज्य: without worshipping
• असंपूज्य: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल) / Adverbial
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + पूज् (धातु) → संपूज्य (कृदन्त, ल्यप्) + अ- (निषेध)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund/absolutive), निषेधपूर्वक; 'without worshipping' (having not worshipped)

• शिवम्: Śiva
• शिवम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन (masc acc sg)

• भस्मरहितः: devoid of sacred ash
• भस्मरहितः: Karta (कर्ता) / Qualifier of 'यः'
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भस्म-रहित (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण (masc nom sg adjective)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction: and)

• अन्नभुक्: one who eats (food)
• अन्नभुक्: Karta (कर्ता) / Qualifier of 'यः'
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्न-भुज् (धातु √भुज्/भुज् 'to eat') → भुक् (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक (one who eats food)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction: and)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (masc nom sg pronoun)

• एतेषाम्: of these (persons)
• एतेषाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंस, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन (gen pl pronoun)

• पातकम्: sin
• पातकम्: Karta (कर्ता) / Predicate noun
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (neuter nom/acc sg)

• मे: of me / my
• मे: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; मम-आदेश (gen sg: of me)

• स्यात्: may be, would be
• स्यात्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (sg)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• आगच्छेयम्: I should come
• आगच्छेयम्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन (sg); परस्मैपद

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/पुनरावृत्ति-अव्यय (adverb: again)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्त-अव्यय (conditional particle: if)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: Frames bhasma-dhāraṇa and prior Śiva-pūjā as daily safeguards; such markers of Śaiva identity are treated as conduits for grace and protection from pāpa.

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: oṃ namaḥ śivāya

Type: panchakshara

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Ritual Elements

Offering: naivedya

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Bhasma (Tripundra)

FAQs

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

It teaches Shaiva discipline: food is to be sanctified by remembrance and worship of Śiva, and bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) is upheld as a daily mark of devotion and inner purity; neglecting both is treated as spiritual negligence producing pāpa.

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

The instruction implies a daily, embodied devotion to Saguna Śiva—worship (pūjā) before ordinary acts like eating, commonly centered on the Śiva-liṅga, so that life becomes continuous liṅga-sevā rather than occasional ritual.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Perform Śiva-pūjā (even brief) before meals, apply bhasma as Tripuṇḍra, and inwardly offer the act of eating to Śiva—ideally with japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”).