Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 60

दक्षयज्ञे सत्या अपमानबोधः — Satī Encounters Disrespect at Dakṣa’s Sacrifice

Devanagari script

गोत्रं त्वदीयं भगवान् यदाह वृषभध्वजः । दाक्षायणीति सहसाहं भवामि सुदुर्मनाः

Transliteration

gotraṃ tvadīyaṃ bhagavān yadāha vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ | dākṣāyaṇīti sahasāhaṃ bhavāmi sudurmanāḥ

Translation

వృషభధ్వజుడైన భగవాన్ శివుడు నీ గోత్రాన్ని ప్రస్తావిస్తూ అకస్మాత్తుగా నన్ను “దాక్షాయణీ” అని పిలిచినప్పుడు, నా హృదయం వెంటనే ఘోరంగా వ్యాకులమవుతుంది.

Word by Word

• gotram: lineage/clan
• gotram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gotra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tvadīyam: your
• tvadīyam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tvadīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); possessive adjective qualifying gotram

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• yadāha: said (that)
• yadāha: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yad + āha (धातु √अह्/√ब्रू periphrastic perfect ‘āha’)
• Form: Verb form āha: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); preceded by relative pronoun yad (neuter acc. sg.) used as conjunction 'that which/that'

• vṛṣabha-dhvajaḥ: (Śiva) whose emblem is the bull
• vṛṣabha-dhvajaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक) + dhvaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Bahuvrīhi: 'whose banner is a bull'; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); epithet of Śiva

• dākṣāyaṇī: Dākṣāyaṇī (daughter of Dakṣa)
• dākṣāyaṇī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dākṣāyaṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); proper name/title

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyārtha-marker (वाक्यार्थसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति-प्रयोग)

• sahasā: suddenly/at once
• sahasā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (अकस्मात्/शीघ्रम्-अर्थे)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: 1st person pronoun; Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhavāmi: become/am
• bhavāmi: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु √भू)
• Form: Present (लट्), 1st person (उत्तमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• su-durmanāḥ: very sorrowful/downcast
• su-durmanāḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृसमानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + durmanas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya/Upapada-like intensification: su + durmanāḥ; Masculine/Feminine common usage; here Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग) Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) agreeing with speaker (Satī)

Speaker

Satī

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Umāpati

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Satī

Role: nurturing

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Sati
• Daksha

FAQs

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

It highlights how worldly identity—especially pride or pain tied to birth and clan—can become a bond (pāśa). Satī’s distress foreshadows the conflict between devotion to Śiva (Pati) and attachment to familial ego centered on Dakṣa.

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

Śiva is invoked here as Vṛṣabhadhvaja, a Saguna form with attributes; yet the verse points beyond externals like lineage. Linga-worship in the Purāṇa repeatedly teaches turning from social labels to steadfast devotion to Śiva as the supreme refuge.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Cultivate inner detachment while remembering Śiva’s name—mentally repeating the Pañcākṣarī mantra (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) to dissolve agitation born of ego and social identity.