Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 39

सृष्टिक्रमवर्णनम् / Description of the Sequence of Creation

Devanagari script

अंतस्तमो बहिस्सत्त्वो विष्णूरुद्रस्तथा मतः । अंतस्सत्त्वस्तमोबाह्यो रजोहं सर्वेथा मुने

Transliteration

aṃtastamo bahissattvo viṣṇūrudrastathā mataḥ | aṃtassattvastamobāhyo rajohaṃ sarvethā mune

Translation

အို မုနိ၊ ဗိဿနုနှင့် ရုဒြတို့သည် အတွင်း၌ တမော (tamas) ရှိသော်လည်း အပြင်၌ သတ္တဝ (sattva) ရှိကြသည်ဟု သိမြင်ကြ၏။ သို့ရာတွင် ငါသည် အစဉ်အမြဲ ရာဇော (rajas) ဖြစ်၍—အတွင်း၌ သတ္တဝ၊ အပြင်၌ တမော ဖြစ်၏။

Word by Word

• antaḥ-tamaḥ: having darkness within / inner darkness
• antaḥ-tamaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: antaḥ (अव्यय) + tamaḥ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva compound used adjectivally; tamaḥ = Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• bahiḥ-sattvaḥ: having sattva outwardly / outer sattva
• bahiḥ-sattvaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahiḥ (अव्यय) + sattva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva compound used adjectivally; sattvaḥ = Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• viṣṇu-rudraḥ: Viṣṇu and Rudra
• viṣṇu-rudraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); dvandva treated as singular collective

• tathā: thus/also
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• mataḥ: is considered
• mataḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/भाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mata (कृदन्त; √man/मन्)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); past participle (भूतकृदन्त) used predicatively ‘is considered’

• antaḥ-sattvaḥ: having sattva within / inner sattva
• antaḥ-sattvaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: antaḥ (अव्यय) + sattva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva compound used adjectivally; sattvaḥ = Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• tamaḥ-bāhyaḥ: having darkness outwardly
• tamaḥ-bāhyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tamaḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + bāhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• rajaḥ: rajas (passion)
• rajaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun; Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• sarvathā: in every way
• sarvathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन/8), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Brahmā (narrating creation-tattva to a sage, traditionally Nārada)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: guṇa-traya differentiation in the sṛṣṭi narrative

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Vishnu
• Rudra (Shiva)

FAQs

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

It frames cosmic functions through the three guṇas: creation is rajasic, while preservation and dissolution can appear as mixed guṇas. From a Shaiva lens, these guṇas belong to prakṛti and bind the soul; liberation comes by turning to Śiva as Pati, who is beyond the guṇas.

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

Because guṇas color the mind, the Purana points the seeker to Saguna Śiva—especially the Liṅga—as a stable focus that purifies rajas and tamas and leads the devotee toward the realization of Śiva’s transcendence (nirguṇa) beyond all guṇas.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Cultivate sattva and restrain rajas/tamas through regular Liṅga-pūjā, japa of the Pañcākṣarī ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya"), and wearing Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) as a daily reminder to burn impurity and steady the mind.