Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 18

रुद्रस्य रणप्रवेशः तथा दैत्यगणानां बाणवृष्टिः

Rudra Enters the Battlefield; the Daityas’ Arrow-Storm

Devanagari script

सूर्यस्य मंडलं भित्त्वा यायाद्वै परमं पदम् । परिव्राट् परमज्ञानी रणे यत्संमुखे हतः

Transliteration

sūryasya maṃḍalaṃ bhittvā yāyādvai paramaṃ padam | parivrāṭ paramajñānī raṇe yatsaṃmukhe hataḥ

Translation

Xuyên thủng quầng đĩa mặt trời, người ấy quả thật đạt đến cảnh giới tối thượng. Đó là bậc du hành khất sĩ, bậc trí tri tối thượng: ai bị giết khi đối diện với ngài trong chiến trận đều đạt đến trạng thái cao nhất ấy.

Word by Word

• sūryasya: of the sun
• sūryasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūrya (सूर्य प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• maṇḍalam: orb; disk
• maṇḍalam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇḍala (मण्डल प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• bhittvā: having pierced
• bhittvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhid (भिद् धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), 'having split/pierced'

• yāyāt: would go; may go
• yāyāt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (या धातु)
• Form: Optative (विधिलिङ्), 3rd person, Singular

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (वै अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable; emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक)

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (परम प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular; qualifies padam

• padam: state; abode
• padam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (पद प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• parivrāṭ: a wandering ascetic
• parivrāṭ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parivrāj (परिव्राज् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; (nom. sg. of परिव्राज्/परिव्राट्) wandering mendicant

• parama-jñānī: supreme knower
• parama-jñānī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (परम) + jñānin (ज्ञानी प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; 'supreme knower'

• raṇe: in battle
• raṇe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raṇa (रण प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• yat: whose
• yat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; relative pronoun linked with saṃmukhe

• saṃmukhe: in front; in the presence
• saṃmukhe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃmukha (सम्मुख प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular; 'in the presence/front'

• hataḥ: slain
• hataḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: han (हन् धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular; 'slain'

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Dakshinamurti

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Post-mortem ascent imagery: 'piercing the solar orb' as a cosmological passage to the supreme state

Characters & Entities

• Surya

FAQs

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

It extols the spiritual potency of the truly realized renunciate devoted to Shiva: contact with such a knower is portrayed as a direct cause for reaching the supreme state, indicating the liberating power of Shiva-jñāna that cuts bondage (pāśa).

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

In Shaiva Siddhanta, Saguna Shiva (worshiped as the Linga) grants grace that matures the soul into jñāna and vairāgya; the verse highlights the fruit of that grace—liberation—embodied in the paramajñānī who has internalized Shiva through disciplined worship and realization.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The takeaway is cultivation of Shiva-jñāna through steady japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with purity and renunciation; pairing it with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa supports remembrance of Shiva and detachment leading toward the supreme goal.