Shloka 20

सृष्टिपद्धतिवर्णनम्

Exposition of the Supreme Method of Creation and the Tirodhāna-Cakra

Devanagari script

एतदेव पदं प्राप्यं रुद्राराधनकांक्षिणाम् । रुद्राणां तद्धि सालोक्यक्रमात्सायुज्यदम्मुने

Transliteration

etadeva padaṃ prāpyaṃ rudrārādhanakāṃkṣiṇām | rudrāṇāṃ taddhi sālokyakramātsāyujyadammune

Translation

एतदेव परं पदं रुद्राराधनकाङ्क्षिणां प्राप्यम्। रुद्रभक्तानां हि सालोक्यक्रमात् सायुज्यं परमाद्भुतं, मुने॥

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Neuter, Nominative/Accusative Singular; qualifying padam

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (अवधारणार्थक निपात)

• padam: state/abode
• padam: Karma/Sādhya (कर्म/साध्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative Singular

• prāpyam: to be attained
• prāpyam: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (आप् धातु) + pra + yat (यत्)
• Form: Gerundive/obligative (यत्-कृदन्त), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative Singular; 'to be attained'

• rudra-ārādhana-kāṃkṣiṇām: of those who desire the worship of Rudra
• rudra-ārādhana-kāṃkṣiṇām: Sambandha/Śeṣa (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी-शेष)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra + ārādhana + kāṃkṣin (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन); 'of those desiring Rudra-worship'

• rudrāṇām: of the Rudras
• rudrāṇām: Sambandha/Śeṣa (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th), Plural

• tat: that
• tat: Karma/Sādhya (कर्म/साध्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Neuter, Nominative/Accusative Singular; referring to padam/goal

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphasis/causal nuance

• sālokya-kramāt: from the stage/sequence of sālokya
• sālokya-kramāt: Apādāna/Anukrama (अपादान/क्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sālokya + krama + tas (प्रातिपदिक + तसिल्; समास)
• Form: Ablatival adverb (तसिलन्त अव्यय): 'from/according to the sequence of sālokya'

• sāyujya-dam: granting sāyujya (union)
• sāyujya-dam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sāyujya + da (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative Singular; 'giver of sāyujya (union)' qualifying tat/padam

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

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Rudra

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not site-specific; it teaches the soteriological ladder of proximity to Rudra—sālokya culminating in sāyujya—framed as the goal of Rudra-ārādhana.

Significance: Affirms liberation as Śiva’s gracious consummation: devotion matures through graded communion (sālokya etc.) toward final union (sāyujya).

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: ॐ नमः शिवाय

Type: panchakshara

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Rudra

FAQs

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

It presents Rudra-bhakti as a direct path to liberation, describing a graded ascent of grace—beginning with nearness to Shiva (sālokya) and culminating in the highest fulfillment, sāyujya (complete union), as the fruit of sincere Rudra worship.

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

Rudra-ārādhana is typically performed through Saguna forms—especially Śiva-liṅga worship with mantra and offerings—by which the devotee’s consciousness becomes fit for Shiva’s grace, leading from devotional proximity to the highest realization described here.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The verse implies steady Rudra-ārādhana: daily Shiva worship with Panchakshara ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya"), japa and dhyāna on Rudra, supported by Shaiva marks like bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa as aids to one-pointed devotion.