Shiva Purana — Kotirudra Samhita, Shloka 59

Śiva-nāma-sahasraka-kathana

The Recital/Teaching of the Thousand Names of Śiva

Devanagari script

दूरश्रवो विश्वसहो ध्येयो दुःस्वप्ननाशनः । उत्तारणो दुष्कृतिहा विज्ञेयो दुःसहोऽभवः

Transliteration

dūraśravo viśvasaho dhyeyo duḥsvapnanāśanaḥ | uttāraṇo duṣkṛtihā vijñeyo duḥsaho'bhavaḥ

Translation

祂远闻无碍，能忍能荷一切；祂当被观想，能灭除恶梦。祂是度脱者，使众生渡越彼岸；祂是灭罪者。应知祂为不生之主，使邪恶难以承受。

Word by Word

• दूर-श्रवाः: far-hearing / far-renowned
• दूर-श्रवाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दूर (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रवस्/श्रव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि-समास (‘दूरं श्रवः/श्रवणं यस्य’ = far-hearing/far-famed)

• विश्व-सहः: enduring all
• विश्व-सहः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विश्व (प्रातिपदिक) + सह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (‘विश्वं सहते’ = all-enduring)

• ध्येयः: to be meditated upon
• ध्येयः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive/भाव्य), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘ध्यातव्यः’

• दुः-स्वप्न-नाशनः: destroyer of bad dreams
• दुः-स्वप्न-नाशनः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुः (अव्यय) + स्वप्न (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (‘दुःस्वप्नस्य नाशनः’)

• उत्तारणः: deliverer
• उत्तारणः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत् + तॄ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त: णिच्/ण्वुल्-भावे ‘उत्तारण’ (agent/means noun), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘उत्तारयिता/उत्तारकः’

• दुष्कृति-हा: destroyer of sin/evil deeds
• दुष्कृति-हा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुष्कृति (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त: क्विप्/अच्-प्रत्ययान्त ‘हा’ (agent noun from √हन्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (दुष्कृतिं हन्ति)

• विज्ञेयः: to be known
• विज्ञेयः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘विज्ञातव्यः’

• दुः-सहः: hard to endure / irresistible
• दुः-सहः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुः (अव्यय) + सह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (‘दुःखेन सह्यते/सह्यः’ अथवा ‘दुःसहः’ = hard to endure)

• अभवः: unborn / without becoming
• अभवः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नञ्-समासभावः (अ + भव = non-becoming/without becoming; also epithet ‘unborn’)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse presents Shiva as Pati—the supreme Lord who both purifies (destroyer of misdeeds) and liberates (the one who ferries beings across saṁsāra). In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, remembrance and meditation on Shiva loosen pāśa (bondage) and steady the devotee’s consciousness against fear and inauspiciousness.

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

These are epithets of Saguna Shiva approachable through Linga-worship and dhyāna: the devotee contemplates the compassionate, protective Lord who hears prayers from afar and removes inner disturbances. Through the Linga, the mind is gathered to know the unborn (abhava) reality that the form signifies.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It directly recommends dhyāna—steady meditation on Shiva’s names and qualities. As a practical takeaway, recite the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with focused remembrance before sleep or during fear, praying to Shiva as duḥsvapna-nāśana and uttāraṇa.