Shiva Purana — Kotirudra Samhita, Shloka 22

चाण्डालीसद्गतिवर्णनम् (Cāṇḍālī-sadgati-varṇanam) — “Account of the Cāṇḍālī’s Attainment of a Good Destiny”

Devanagari script

एवं कृच्छ्रेण महता नीत्वा स्वविपुलं वयः । जरयाग्रस्तसवार्ङ्गी दुःखमाप दुरत्ययम्

Transliteration

evaṃ kṛcchreṇa mahatā nītvā svavipulaṃ vayaḥ | jarayāgrastasavārṅgī duḥkhamāpa duratyayam

Translation

如是，她以极大艰辛度过漫长岁月；全身为老迈所侵，遂堕入难以超越的苦厄——暗示湿婆派之旨：唯归依主宰（Pati）大自在天湿婆，方能越过衰败之缚。

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus; in this way
• एवम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner)

• कृच्छ्रेण: with difficulty; by hardship
• कृच्छ्रेण: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृच्छ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण (instrumental: by/with hardship)

• महता: great; severe
• महता: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘कृच्छ्रेण’)

• नीत्वा: having spent/led (through)
• नीत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), ‘having led/passed’

• स्व-विपुलम्: one’s own abundant
• स्व-विपुलम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + विपुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘वयः’)

• वयः: youth; age
• वयः: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्म (object of ‘नीत्वा’)

• जरया: by old age
• जरया: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; करण (instrumental: by old age)

• ग्रस्त-स-वार्ङ्गी: she whose whole body was seized (afflicted)
• ग्रस्त-स-वार्ङ्गी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्रस् (धातु) → ग्रस्त (कृदन्त, क्त) + स (अव्यय/उपसर्गवत् ‘with’) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक) → वार्ङ्गी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—‘यस्या वार्ङ्गं (समस्ताङ्गं) ग्रस्तं’ (whose whole body is seized); विशेषण/कर्तृपद

• दुःखम्: sorrow; suffering
• दुःखम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्म

• आप: attained; met with
• आप: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• दुरत्ययम्: hard to overcome
• दुरत्ययम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुरत्यय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘दुःखम्’)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: Sets the existential backdrop (jarā/duḥkha) that motivates turning from saṃsāra to Śiva; frames pilgrimage/bhakti as a means to cross duratyaya-duḥkha.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It highlights jarā (old age) and duḥkha as unavoidable conditions of embodied life, urging vairāgya and turning toward Lord Śiva (Pati) as the true refuge beyond decay.

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

By showing the limits of worldly endurance, it implicitly directs the devotee to Saguna Śiva worship—especially Liṅga-darśana, japa, and pilgrimage—through which grace is sought to cross suffering.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is daily pañcākṣarī-japa (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as aids to steadiness and detachment amid bodily decline.