Shiva Purana — Kotirudra Samhita, Shloka 41

Mukti-bheda-nirūpaṇa (Classification of Liberation) and Śiva as the Sole Bestower of Mokṣa

Devanagari script

इति श्रीशिवमहापुराणे चतुर्थ्यां कोटिरुद्रसंहितायां मुक्तिनिरूपणं नामैकचत्वारिंशोऽध्यायः

Transliteration

iti śrīśivamahāpurāṇe caturthyāṃ koṭirudrasaṃhitāyāṃ muktinirūpaṇaṃ nāmaikacatvāriṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

Như vậy, trong Thánh điển Śiva Mahāpurāṇa, phần thứ tư—Koṭirudra-saṃhitā—kết thúc chương bốn mươi mốt mang tên “Muktinirūpaṇa”, tức sự trình bày về giải thoát (mokṣa).

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: समाप्ति-अव्यय; ‘thus’ (colophon marker)

• श्री-शिव-महा-पुराणे: in the Śrī Śiva Mahāpurāṇa
• श्री-शिव-महा-पुराणे: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरणम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक) + शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + महा (प्रातिपदिक) + पुराण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन; Locative ‘in the venerable Śiva Mahāpurāṇa’

• चतुर्थ्याम्: in the fourth (section)
• चतुर्थ्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरणम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्थी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन; Locative ‘in the fourth (book/section)’

• कोटिरुद्र-संहितायाम्: in the Koṭirudra-saṃhitā
• कोटिरुद्र-संहितायाम्: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरणम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + संहिता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन; Locative ‘in the Koṭirudra-saṃhitā’

• मुक्ति-निरूपणम्: (chapter titled) ‘Exposition of Liberation’
• मुक्ति-निरूपणम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुक्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + निरूपण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; title ‘the exposition of liberation’

• नाम: named
• नाम: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: संज्ञासूचक-अव्यय; particle ‘named/called’

• एक-चत्वारिंशः: forty-first
• एक-चत्वारिंशः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषणम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + चत्वारिंशत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ordinal ‘forty-first’ (as dvigu numeral compound)

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘chapter’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: Colophon functions as textual tīrtha-marker: identifying the mokṣa-topic (muktinirūpaṇa) and its placement, aiding ritualized reading (pārāyaṇa) traditions.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

This is the chapter-colophon marking the completion of “Muktinirūpaṇa,” affirming that mokṣa is a central aim of Śaiva teaching and that the Purāṇa frames liberation as Shiva’s grace and right knowledge culminating in freedom from bondage.

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

Though this line is a closing formula, it points back to the chapter’s theme: devotion to Śiva—often through Liṅga-worship and remembrance of the Lord’s saguna forms—serves as an accessible means leading the devotee toward the highest liberation.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

As a colophon it prescribes no single rite, but its mokṣa-theme aligns with regular Śiva-sādhana such as japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), Liṅga-pūjā, and contemplative remembrance of Śiva as Pati who releases the soul from pāśa (bondage).