Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 41

पूजाविधिः

Pūjā-vidhiḥ) — The Supreme Procedure of Worship (Morning Observances

Devanagari script

प्रक्षाल्य हस्तौ पश्चाद्वै प्राणायामं प्रकल्पयेत् । मूलमंत्रेण तत्रैव दशावर्तं नयेन्नरः

Transliteration

prakṣālya hastau paścādvai prāṇāyāmaṃ prakalpayet | mūlamaṃtreṇa tatraiva daśāvartaṃ nayennaraḥ

Translation

Após lavar as mãos, deve-se então empreender o prāṇāyāma. Ali mesmo, com o mūla-mantra (o mantra-raiz de Śiva), o praticante deve realizá-lo por dez repetições.

Word by Word

• प्रक्षाल्य: having washed
• प्रक्षाल्य: Purvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्र + क्षल् (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप्/क्त्वा-अर्थक अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) — 'having washed'

• हस्तौ: (both) hands
• हस्तौ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), द्विवचन

• पश्चात्: afterwards
• पश्चात्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पश्चात् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb) — 'afterwards'

• वै: indeed
• वै: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) — emphasis

• प्राणायामम्: breath-control (prāṇāyāma)
• प्राणायामम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक) + आयाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्र-कल्पयेत्: should perform/prepare
• प्र-कल्पयेत्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + कल्प् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद — 'should undertake/arrange'

• मूल-मन्त्रेण: with the root-mantra
• मूल-मन्त्रेण: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूल (प्रातिपदिक) + मन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास ('मूलः मन्त्रः'); पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (restrictive particle)

• दश-आवर्तम्: ten times (ten repetitions)
• दश-आवर्तम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश (प्रातिपदिक) + आवर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (संख्यापूर्वपद); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (क्रियाविशेषणवत् प्रयोगः); द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अर्थः—'ten repetitions/turns'

• नयेत्: should do/perform
• नयेत्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद — 'should lead/perform'

• नरः: a man (the practitioner)
• नरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Īśāna

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: General sādhana step within pūjā: external cleansing (hand-washing) followed by internal regulation (prāṇāyāma) coordinated with the mūla-mantra for ten cycles.

Significance: Frames worship as both bodily and subtle purification; prāṇāyāma with Śiva-mūla-mantra prepares the paśu for receiving anugraha (grace) through steadied prāṇa and mind.

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: (implied) oṃ namaḥ śivāya

Type: panchakshara

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that external cleanliness and inner purification must go together: washing the hands symbolizes ritual purity, while prāṇāyāma with Śiva’s root mantra steadies prāṇa and mind so devotion becomes focused and sattvic—fit for approaching Pati (Śiva).

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

Before offering to the Liṅga (Saguna Śiva as an accessible form), the worshipper disciplines breath and attention through mantra-linked prāṇāyāma, making the senses inward and the offering more conscious rather than merely formal.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Perform prāṇāyāma after cleansing, repeating the mūla-mantra ten times (often understood in Śaiva practice as the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” or the lineage-given Śiva-mantra) as a preparatory step before Śiva-pūjā.