Shloka 2

सतीविरहानन्तरं शम्भोश्चरितम् / Śiva’s Conduct After Satī’s Separation

Devanagari script

सतीविरहयुक्शंम्भुः किं चक्रे चरितन्तथा । तपः कर्तुं कदायातो हिमवत्प्रस्थमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

satīvirahayukśaṃmbhuḥ kiṃ cakre caritantathā | tapaḥ kartuṃ kadāyāto himavatprasthamuttamam

Translation

سَتی کے فراق کے غم سے لبریز شَمبھو نے اُس وقت کیا کیا، اور کیسا آچرن کیا؟ اور تپسیا کے لیے وہ کب ہِموان کی نہایت برتر چوٹیوں پر گیا؟

Word by Word

• satī-viraha-yuk-śambhuḥ: Śambhu, afflicted with separation from Satī
• satī-viraha-yuk-śambhuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satī (प्रातिपदिक) + viraha (प्रातिपदिक) + yukta (कृदन्त) + śambhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिसमास: ‘सतीविरहेण युक्तः (यः) सः शम्भुः’; पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; interrogative pronoun used adverbially

• cakre: did
• cakre: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्

• caritam: deed / conduct
• caritam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: carita (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; ‘conduct/deed’

• tathā: thus / then
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (adverb)

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्

• kartum: to perform
• kartum: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive) अव्यय; ‘to do’

• kadā: when
• kadā: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kadā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक कालवाचक अव्यय (interrogative adverb of time)

• āyātaḥ: came
• āyātaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-yā (धातु) > āyāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; ‘having come’

• himavat-prastham: the plateau/region of Himavat
• himavat-prastham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: himavat (प्रातिपदिक) + prastha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘हिमवतः प्रस्थम्’); नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्

• uttamam: excellent
• uttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम्; agrees with prastham

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahadeva

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Kedāranātha

Sthala Purana: Śiva, bereft of Satī, withdraws from worldly engagement and turns to tapas in the Himālaya; this Himalayan ascetic setting resonates with the Kedāra-region where Śiva is especially worshipped as the great yogin.

Significance: Tapas and viraha are reframed as yoga leading to inner purification and readiness for Śiva’s anugraha; pilgrims seek removal of pāśa (bondage) and steadiness in bhakti.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Satī

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Sati
• Himavan

FAQs

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

The verse frames Śiva’s viraha (separation from Satī) as the backdrop for tapas—showing how sorrow is transmuted into inwardness, restraint, and yogic steadiness, preparing the ground for the divine unfolding that leads to Pārvatī’s advent.

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

Śiva’s movement to Himavān for austerity highlights Saguna Śiva’s lived līlā—he becomes approachable as the Lord who embodies yoga and renunciation. In Linga-worship, devotees contemplate this same stillness and tapas as the Lord’s grace-form that draws the soul toward purification and liberation.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The verse points to tapas and yogic perseverance: steady japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), meditation on Śiva’s form or the Liṅga, and disciplined sādhana supported by Śaiva markers like bhasma (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa, performed with vairāgya and devotion.