Shloka 21

Varṇa-adhikāra, Karma, and the Protection of One’s Attained Spiritual Status (वर्णाधिकारः कर्म च स्वस्थानरक्षणम्)

Devanagari script

इति श्रीशिवमहापुराणे पञ्चम्यामुमासंहितायां रणफलवर्णनं नामैकविंशोऽध्यायः

Transliteration

iti śrīśivamahāpurāṇe pañcamyāmumāsaṃhitāyāṃ raṇaphalavarṇanaṃ nāmaikaviṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

இவ்வாறு புனித ஸ்ரீசிவமகாபுராணத்தின் ஐந்தாம் பகுதியான உமாசம்ஹிதையில் ‘ரணபலவர்ணனம்’ எனப்படும் இருபத்தொன்றாம் அதிகாரம் நிறைவுற்றது.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/closure)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), colophon marker (इति)

• śrī-śiva-mahā-purāṇe: in the Śrī Śiva Mahāpurāṇa
• śrī-śiva-mahā-purāṇe: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/locative setting)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (श्री-प्रातिपदिक) + śiva (शिव-प्रातिपदिक) + mahā (महा-प्रातिपदिक) + purāṇa (पुराण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; title compound ‘the great Purāṇa of Śrī Śiva’

• pañcamyām: in the fifth (section)
• pañcamyām: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/locative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañcamī (पञ्चमी-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; ordinal adjective agreeing with saṃhitāyām (understood)

• umā-saṃhitāyām: in the Umā-saṃhitā
• umā-saṃhitāyām: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/locative setting)
• Type: Noun
• Root: umā (उमा-प्रातिपदिक) + saṃhitā (संहिता-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; compound: umāyāḥ saṃhitā (उमायाः संहिता)

• raṇa-phala-varṇanam: description of the fruit of battle
• raṇa-phala-varṇanam: Karta (कर्ता/subject; title)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raṇa (रण-प्रातिपदिक) + phala (फल-प्रातिपदिक) + varṇana (वर्णन-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; compound: raṇasya phalasya varṇanam (रणस्य फलस्य वर्णनम्)

• nāma: named
• nāma: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/naming marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (नामन्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya-like usage as title-marker (नाम) meaning “called/named”

• eka-viṃśaḥ: twenty-first
• eka-viṃśaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण/modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (एक-प्रातिपदिक) + viṃśati (विंशति-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; numeral dvigu compound = 21st, agreeing with adhyāyaḥ

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject; colophon)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (अध्याय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: iti śrīśivamahāpurāṇe pañcamyāmumāsaṃhitāyāṃ raṇaphalavarṇanaṃ nāmaikaviṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

This is a colophon marking the completion of a chapter; spiritually, it signals the closure of a teaching-unit and encourages śraddhā (reverent attention) to the chapter’s message, culminating in remembrance of Śiva as Pati (the Lord) who grants the ultimate fruit—liberation.

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

Though it does not describe a ritual directly, it frames the chapter within the Śiva Mahāpurāṇa, whose teachings consistently culminate in devotion to Saguna Śiva (including Liṅga worship) as the accessible means for grace, purification, and spiritual fruition.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

As an ending marker, it implicitly recommends pāraṇa-like completion practices: recitation with focused mind, dedicating the merit to Śiva, and continuing daily japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) as the steady contemplative discipline.