Shloka 23

नरकलोकवर्णनम् (Narakaloka-varṇanam) — Description of the Hell-Realms

Devanagari script

इति ते नामतः प्रोक्ता घोरा नरककोटयः । अष्टाविंशतिरेवैताः पापानां यातनात्मिकाः

Transliteration

iti te nāmataḥ proktā ghorā narakakoṭayaḥ | aṣṭāviṃśatirevaitāḥ pāpānāṃ yātanātmikāḥ

Translation

ထို့ကြောင့် ဤကြောက်မက်ဖွယ် နရကအစုအဝေးများကို သင်အား အမည်ဖြင့် ပြောကြားပြီးပြီ။ အမှန်တကယ် ၎င်းတို့သည် အရေအတွက် နှစ်ဆယ့်ရှစ် ဖြစ်၍၊ အပြစ်ကံ၏ အကျိုးဆက်အဖြစ် ခံစားရသော ညှဉ်းပန်းဒဏ်ရာ၏ နယ်ပယ်များ ဖြစ်ကြသည်။

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: सम्बन्ध/उद्धरण
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक अव्यय (quotative)

• ते: they
• ते: कर्ता (Karta/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्तृपद (they)

• नामतः: by name
• नामतः: सम्बन्ध/विशेषण (adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नामतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb); नाम + तस् (tasil) = ‘by name/with respect to name’

• प्रोक्ताः: declared, stated
• प्रोक्ताः: विशेषण (of subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘ते’ इत्यस्य विशेषण—declared

• घोराः: terrible
• घोराः: विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘नरककोटयः’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• नरक-कोटयः: multitudes/classes of hells
• नरक-कोटयः: कर्ता (Karta/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; नरकाणां कोटयः (classes/crores of hells)

• अष्टाविंशतिः: twenty-eight
• अष्टाविंशतिः: कर्ता/संख्या-विशेषण
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टाविंशति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; संख्या (numeral) = 28; द्विगु-समासः (अष्टा+विंशति)

• एव: indeed, exactly
• एव: सम्बन्ध/निपात
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphasis/only)

• एताः: these
• एताः: कर्ता (Karta/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘नरककोटयः’ इत्यस्य पुनर्निर्देश (these)

• पापानाम्: of sins
• पापानाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (of sins/of sinners’ deeds)

• यातना-आत्मिकाः: consisting of torments
• यातना-आत्मिकाः: विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यातना + आत्मिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; यातनात्मकाः = यातना एव आत्मा/स्वभावः यस्याः (having torment as their nature)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Purana to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

FAQs

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

It summarizes that the Purana has enumerated twenty-eight named hell-realms to teach moral discernment: pāpa binds the soul through suffering (a form of pāśa), while turning toward Shiva as Pati supports purification and liberation.

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

By highlighting the consequences of sin, it implicitly urges refuge in Saguna Shiva—worship of the Linga with devotion and right conduct—so that karmic impurities are reduced and the aspirant becomes fit for Shiva’s grace and moksha.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Adopt daily Shiva-oriented discipline: japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), sincere repentance and ethical restraint, and regular puja/abhisheka to the Linga as a practical antidote to pāpa.