Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 29

कार्तिकेयलीलावर्णनम्

Narration of Kārttikeya’s Divine Play

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्नवसरे तत्र कृत्तिकाख्याश्च षट् स्त्रियः । स्नातुं समागता बालं ददृशुस्तं महाप्रभुम्

Transliteration

tasminnavasare tatra kṛttikākhyāśca ṣaṭ striyaḥ | snātuṃ samāgatā bālaṃ dadṛśustaṃ mahāprabhum

Translation

ในขณะนั้นเอง สตรีหกนางที่เรียกว่า ‘กฤตติกา’ มาถึงเพื่ออาบน้ำ และได้เห็นกุมารนั้น—ผู้ซึ่งแท้จริงคือมหาปรภูผู้ยิ่งใหญ่

Word by Word

• तस्मिन्: at that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Time-location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अवसरे: occasion/time
• अवसरे: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avasara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• कृत्तिका-आख्याः: named ‘Kṛttikā’
• कृत्तिका-आख्याः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of स्त्रियः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत्तिका (प्रातिपदिक) + आख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘कृत्तिका इति आख्या यस्याः/याः’ (named Kṛttikās)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• षट्: six
• षट्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of स्त्रियः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṭ (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा, बहुवचनार्थे (indeclinable numeral form used adjectivally)

• स्त्रियः: women
• स्त्रियः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• स्नातुम्: to bathe
• स्नातुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्ना (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), अव्यय; प्रयोजनार्थ (purpose)

• समागताः: came/assembled
• समागताः: Kriyā (क्रिया; finite sense ‘came’)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु) + सम्- (उपसर्ग) + क्त
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोग (as predicate adjective)

• बालम्: the boy
• बालम्: Karma (कर्म/Object of seeing)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ददृशुः: saw
• ददृशुः: Kriyā (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (कर्म; apposition to बालम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• महा-प्रभुम्: the great Lord
• महा-प्रभुम्: Karma (कर्म; apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘महान् प्रभुः’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadyojāta

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: The episode anticipates Skanda/Kumāra’s emergence: the Kṛttikās come to bathe and behold the divine child, initiating the maternal adoption motif that leads to Ṣaṇmukha.

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Characters & Entities

• Krittikas
• Kartikeya
• Shiva

FAQs

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

It shows the Lord’s compassionate accessibility: the supreme Pati can appear in a gentle, childlike form, allowing devotees to encounter divinity directly through grace and purity of circumstance.

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

While the Linga points to Shiva beyond form (nirguṇa), this episode highlights saguna revelation—Shiva’s lordliness shining even in a manifest form, supporting devotion through visible, relatable leela.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The setting emphasizes śauca (purity): begin worship with स्नान (bathing), then remember Shiva with mantra-japa (especially the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and offer reverent darśana to the Lord in whatever form he is revealed.