Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 24

युद्धप्रारम्भवर्णनम् — Description of the Commencement of Battle

Devanagari script

भूमौ निपतितास्तत्र शतशोऽथ सहस्रशः । निकृत्तांगा महाशस्त्रैर्निहता वीरसंमताः

Transliteration

bhūmau nipatitāstatra śataśo'tha sahasraśaḥ | nikṛttāṃgā mahāśastrairnihatā vīrasaṃmatāḥ

Translation

ที่นั่นบนพื้นดิน พวกเขาล้มลงเป็นร้อยเป็นพัน อวัยวะถูกตัดขาดด้วยศาสตราวุธอันใหญ่ยิ่ง แม้ผู้ที่ได้รับการยกย่องว่าเป็นวีรก็ถูกสังหาร

Word by Word

• भूमौ: on the ground
• भूमौ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• निपतिताः: fell / having fallen
• निपतिताः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: निपतित (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्यय, नि + √पत् (धातु) ‘to fall down’; resultant state ‘having fallen’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Kriya-vishesana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• शतशः: by hundreds
• शतशः: Kriya-vishesana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शतशस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (distributive adverb: by hundreds)

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अनन्तर्य-अव्यय (conj./then)

• सहस्रशः: by thousands
• सहस्रशः: Kriya-vishesana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (distributive adverb: by thousands)

• निकृत्त-अङ्गाः: with severed limbs
• निकृत्त-अङ्गाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निकृत्त + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (अङ्गानि निकृत्तानि येषाम्/whose limbs were cut off)

• महा-शस्त्रैः: by great weapons
• महा-शस्त्रैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् + शस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• निहताः: were slain
• निहताः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: निहत (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्यय, नि + √हन् (धातु) ‘to kill’; passive/resultant ‘were slain’

• वीर-संमताः: esteemed as heroes
• वीर-संमताः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वीर + संमत (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-आधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (वीरैः संमताः = approved/esteemed by heroes)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Vīrabhadra

FAQs

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

It underscores impermanence: even those celebrated as heroes fall when karma ripens. In Shaiva understanding, true victory is not worldly conquest but turning the mind toward Shiva—the Pati—who alone grants liberation beyond birth and death.

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

By portraying the fragility of embodied life, the verse implicitly directs the seeker from transient power to the stable refuge of Saguna Shiva worship—Linga-upasana—where devotion and surrender purify the soul and loosen bondage (pāśa).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with contemplation on mortality and detachment; applying bhasma (tripuṇḍra) as a reminder that the body ends in ash can support vairāgya.