Shloka 35

साधुवेषद्विजाह्वयावतारकथनम् | Account of the ‘Sādhu-veṣa’ Brahmin-Named Incarnation

Prelude

Devanagari script

ततो रुद्रो महोतिं च कृत्वा भक्तमुदावहाम् । विवाहयित्वा गिरिजां देवकार्य्यं चकार सः

Transliteration

tato rudro mahotiṃ ca kṛtvā bhaktamudāvahām | vivāhayitvā girijāṃ devakāryyaṃ cakāra saḥ

Translation

ततो रुद्रो महाकर्म विधाय भक्तं सम्यगुदावहन् । गिरिजां विवाह्य देवकार्यं चकार सः ॥

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), अव्यय-प्रकारः: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• rudraḥ: Rudra (Śiva)
• rudraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (singular)

• mahotim: Mahotī (a name/epithet; here as object)
• mahotim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahotī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• kṛtvā: having done/made
• kṛtvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययकृदन्त (indeclinable verbal), ‘having done/made’

• bhaktam: devotee
• bhaktam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• udāvahām: Udāvahā (proper name)
• udāvahām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udāvahā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• vivāhayitvā: having married (her)
• vivāhayitvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√vāh (धातु)
• Form: णिच्-प्रत्यय (causative) + क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययकृदन्त; ‘having caused to be married / having married (someone off)’

• girijām: Girijā (Pārvatī)
• girijām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: girijā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• devakāryyam: the gods’ task
• devakāryyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + kārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive tatpuruṣa): देवानां कार्यम् (work of the gods)

• cakāra: did, accomplished
• cakāra: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

Speaker

Sūta Gosvāmin

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Umāpati

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: nurturing

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Shiva
• Girija
• Parvati
• Devas

FAQs

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

The verse presents Rudra as Pati (the Lord) who, while remaining supreme, compassionately enters divine action—honoring devotion and establishing dharmic order through His marriage to Girijā and the fulfillment of devakārya.

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

It highlights Saguna Śiva—Rudra with attributes—who performs rites and engages in līlā for the welfare of beings. Such narratives support devotional worship of Śiva (including Liṅga-upāsanā) as the accessible form of the transcendent Lord.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The verse implies reverent pūjā and bhakti: perform Śiva-arcana with sincerity, recite the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), and cultivate devotion that Śiva ‘honors’ through grace and right guidance.