Shloka 8

Sūtasya Punargamanaṃ Kāśyāṃ—Bhasma-Rudrākṣa-Tripuṇḍra-Vidhiśca

Sūta’s Return to Kāśī and the Observances of Bhasma, Rudrākṣa, and Tripuṇḍra

Devanagari script

द्विराचम्य समादाय भस्म सद्यादिमंत्रतः । उद्धूलनादिक्रमतो विधार्य्याऽथ मुनीश्वरः

Transliteration

dvirācamya samādāya bhasma sadyādimaṃtrataḥ | uddhūlanādikramato vidhāryyā'tha munīśvaraḥ

Translation

为求净化，他先两次啜水行净礼；随后这位尊贵的牟尼取起圣灰（bhasma），以“萨德约阇多”（Sadyojāta）等相应真言，依仪轨次第施用——先以圣灰遍身摩拭，再行其余所规定之法。

Word by Word

• द्विः: twice
• द्विः: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: द्विः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; संख्यावाचक क्रियाविशेषण (numeral adverb)

• आचम्य: having sipped (water)
• आचम्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आचम् (धातु) + आ (उपसर्ग)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; पूर्वकालक्रिया

• समादाय: having taken
• समादाय: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु) + सम् + आ (उपसर्ग)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive), अव्ययभाव; पूर्वकालक्रिया

• भस्म: sacred ash
• भस्म: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भस्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मपद

• सद्यः-आदि-मन्त्रतः: by means of the mantra beginning with ‘sadyaḥ’
• सद्यः-आदि-मन्त्रतः: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सद्यः (अव्यय) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक) + मन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक) + तः (तसिल्)
• Form: समास: सद्यः-आदि (तत्पुरुष; ‘beginning with “sadyaḥ”’), मन्त्रतः = मन्त्र-शब्दात् तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb: ‘by/from the mantra’)

• उद्धूलन-आदि-क्रमतः: according to the sequence starting with rubbing (the ash)
• उद्धूलन-आदि-क्रमतः: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उद्धूलन (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक) + क्रम (प्रातिपदिक) + तः (तसिल्)
• Form: समास: उद्धूलन-आदि (तत्पुरुष; ‘beginning with rubbing/smearing’), क्रमतः = तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (‘in order/according to sequence’)

• विधार्य: having applied/placed
• विधार्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धृ (धातु) + वि (उपसर्ग)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; पूर्वकालक्रिया

• अथ: then
• अथ: Discourse marker (अनुक्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमसूचक

• मुनीश्वरः: the lord of sages
• मुनीश्वरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समास: मुनि-ईश्वर (तत्पुरुष; ‘lord among sages’)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Sadyojāta

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: Bhasma-dhāraṇa with Pañcabrahma-mantras is taught as a daily Śaiva purifier, marking the body as Śiva’s field and weakening pāśa (mala/karma/māyā) through disciplined observance.

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: (implied) Sadyojāta and the other Pañcabrahma-mantras (Sadyojāta, Vāmadeva, Aghora, Tatpuruṣa, Īśāna) employed for bhasma-dhāraṇa/uddhūlana.

Type: rudram

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It presents the Shaiva discipline of inner and outer purification: ācamana steadies the practitioner, and bhasma—sanctified by mantra—marks surrender to Pati (Shiva) and remembrance of impermanence, supporting liberation-oriented worship.

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

Bhasma-dhāraṇa is a preparatory saṃskāra for Saguna Shiva worship—especially before Linga-pūjā—aligning the body as a ritual vessel and invoking Shiva’s fivefold divine functions through the Sadyojāta and allied mantras.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Perform ācamana (here, twice), then take bhasma and apply it in the prescribed order (starting with uddhūlana), while reciting the Sadyojāta and related Pañcabrahma mantras—commonly culminating in tripuṇḍra application as a Shaiva observance.