Shloka 35

यक्षेश्वरावतारः (Yakṣeśvara-Avatāra) and the Nīlakaṇṭha Paradigm in the Churning of the Ocean

Devanagari script

मोहिता माययाद्यापि तव यक्षस्वरूपिणः । सगर्वमभिभाषन्तस्त्वत्पुरो हि पृथङ्मयाः

Transliteration

mohitā māyayādyāpi tava yakṣasvarūpiṇaḥ | sagarvamabhibhāṣantastvatpuro hi pṛthaṅmayāḥ

Translation

హే శివా! నీ మాయచేత ఇప్పటికీ మోహితులైన యక్షస్వరూపులు నీ సమక్షంలో గర్వంగా పలుకుతారు, తమను వేరుగా భావిస్తారు; కాని నిజానికి వారు నీవే వ్యాపించినవారు।

Word by Word

• mohitāḥ: deluded
• mohitāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mohita (कृदन्त; √muh धातु)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nominative, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural); Kta-participle (past passive participle) used adjectivally

• māyayā: by (your) māyā/illusion
• māyayā: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine), Tṛtīyā (Instrumental, 3rd), Ekavacana (Singular)

• adya: today/now
• adya: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: Kāla-avyaya (temporal adverb)

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha-nipāta (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle), sense: 'even/also'

• tava: your
• tava: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (pronoun), Ṣaṣṭhī (Genitive, 6th), Ekavacana (Singular)

• yakṣa-svarūpiṇaḥ: those having the form of yakṣas
• yakṣa-svarūpiṇaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + svarūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nominative, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural); Tatpuruṣa: yakṣasya svarūpam yasya/ye (yakṣa-form)

• sa-garvam: proudly
• sa-garvam: Prakāra-adhikaraṇa (प्रकाराधिकरण/Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थ) + garva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva compound used adverbially; sense: 'with pride'

• abhibhāṣantaḥ: speaking/addressing
• abhibhāṣantaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-√bhāṣ (भाष् धातु)
• Form: Vartamāna-kṛdanta (present active participle, Śatṛ/शतृ), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• tvat-puraḥ: before you
• tvat-puraḥ: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (देशाधिकरण/Place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + puraḥ (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva in locative sense; adverb meaning 'in your presence/before you'

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha-nipāta (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (emphatic particle)

• pṛthak: separately
• pṛthak: Prakāra-adhikaraṇa (प्रकाराधिकरण/Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pṛthak (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (adverb)

• mayāḥ: made of (different parts); distinct in constitution
• mayāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mayaṭ (तद्धित-प्रत्यय) from pronoun base (idam/etad implied)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nominative, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural); Taddhita -maya (मयट्) meaning 'consisting of/formed of' (here: 'made of separate (parts)' in sense)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Shatarudra Samhita episode to the sages, describing Shiva’s māyā and the pride of beings in a yakṣa-like guise)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Īśāna

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Maya
• Yaksha

FAQs

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

It teaches that pride and the sense of separateness arise from Shiva’s māyā; liberation comes when the soul recognizes Pati (Shiva) as the indwelling Lord and abandons egoic independence.

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

Worship of Saguna Shiva (including the Linga) trains the mind to surrender pride in Shiva’s presence, replacing separative identity with devotion and recognition of Shiva as the all-pervading reality behind forms.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is humble japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with self-inquiry into ego, paired with simple Shaiva disciplines like Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as reminders of surrender to Pati.