Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 31

कार्तिकेयलीलावर्णनम्

Narration of Kārttikeya’s Divine Play

Devanagari script

तद्वादशमनार्थं स षण्मुखानि चकार ह । पपौ दुग्धं च सर्वासां तुष्टास्ता अभवन्मुने

Transliteration

tadvādaśamanārthaṃ sa ṣaṇmukhāni cakāra ha | papau dugdhaṃ ca sarvāsāṃ tuṣṭāstā abhavanmune

Translation

ထိုအငြင်းပွားမှုကိုငြိမ်းစေရန် သူသည် မျက်နှာခြောက်ပါးကို ပေါ်ထွန်းစေ하였다။ ထိုမျက်နှာအားလုံးမှ နို့ကို သောက်သုံး၍၊ အို မုနိ၊ သူမတို့အားလုံး စိတ်ကျေနပ်သွားကြ၏။

Word by Word

• तत्: that (thing)
• तत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वादशमनार्थम्: for pacifying the dispute
• वादशमनार्थम्: Prayojana/Hetu (प्रयोजन/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाद-शमन-अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; वाद + शमन + अर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थक-समास (for the purpose of pacifying the dispute)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• षण्मुखानि: six faces (mouths)
• षण्मुखानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षण्मुख (प्रातिपदिक; षण् + मुख)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास (six-faced/ six mouths)

• चकार: made
• चकार: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ह: indeed
• ह: Sambandha/Avyaya (सम्बन्ध/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), कथन-प्रत्ययार्थक (emphatic/indeclinable)

• पपौ: drank
• पपौ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• दुग्धम्: milk
• दुग्धम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुग्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Avyaya (सम्बन्ध/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• सर्वासाम्: of all (of them)
• सर्वासाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण

• तुष्टाः: satisfied
• तुष्टाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; तुष् धातु + क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भावे (past participle: satisfied)

• ताः: they (those women)
• ताः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• अभवन्: became
• अभवन्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta Gosvāmin

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Ṣaṇmukha (Kumāra)

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: The Lord manifests six faces to grant equal motherhood to the six Kṛttikās, pacifying their dispute; this becomes a key etiological motif for Ṣaṇmukha/Kumāra’s six-faced iconography.

Significance: Contemplation of Ṣaṇmukha as the Lord’s gracious adaptability—removing discord and granting satisfaction (tṛpti) to devotees.

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Ritual Elements

Offering: naivedya

Characters & Entities

• Kartikeya
• Six Mothers (Kṛttikās)

FAQs

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

It presents a Shaiva vision of divine compassion and harmony: the divine child resolves conflict not by argument but by an expansive manifestation that satisfies all, showing that grace (anugraha) restores peace among devotees.

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

Though not directly about the Liṅga, it reflects Saguna Shiva’s household theology in the Rudrasaṃhitā: divine forms appear as needed to protect devotees and uphold dharma—supporting personal, form-based devotion as a valid path.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is to cultivate śānti (peace) through japa and devotion—such as chanting “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and to resolve disputes with humility and inclusiveness, mirroring the verse’s spirit of appeasement.