Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 14

सत्यप्रतिज्ञा-तपःसंवादः

Pārvatī’s Vow of Truth and the Dialogue on Her Tapas

Devanagari script

अव्यक्तजन्मा सततं गृहभोगविवर्जितः । दिगंबरो दशभुजो भूत प्रेतान्वितस्सदा

Transliteration

avyaktajanmā satataṃ gṛhabhogavivarjitaḥ | digaṃbaro daśabhujo bhūta pretānvitassadā

Translation

其降生不可显现，超越凡常所知；恒离家居之乐。以十方为衣（裸形之相），具十臂，常有部多与饿鬼随侍——皆在其主宰号令之下。

Word by Word

• अव्यक्त-जन्मा: one whose birth is unmanifest/unknown
• अव्यक्त-जन्मा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव्यक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (अव्यक्तं जन्म यस्य)

• सततम्: always, continually
• सततम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सतत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• गृह-भोग-विवर्जितः: devoid of household enjoyments
• गृह-भोग-विवर्जितः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक) + भोग (प्रातिपदिक) + विवर्जित (कृदन्त; वि+वृज्/वर्ज् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त/त participle) ‘विवर्जित’; समासः तत्पुरुषः (गृहभोगैः विवर्जितः)

• दिगम्बरः: sky-clad, naked (directions as garment)
• दिगम्बरः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिक् (प्रातिपदिक) + अम्बर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (दिग् एव अम्बरं यस्य)

• दश-भुजः: ten-armed
• दश-भुजः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + भुज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (दश भुजाः यस्य)

• भूत-प्रेत-अन्वितः: accompanied by spirits and ghosts
• भूत-प्रेत-अन्वितः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रेत (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्वित (कृदन्त; अनु+इ धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त ‘अन्वित’; पूर्वपदद्वन्द्वः (भूताश्च प्रेताश्च) + तत्पुरुषार्थः (भूतप्रेतैः अन्वितः)

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Kālabhairava

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It presents Shiva as Pati—the transcendent Lord whose origin is beyond worldly causality—teaching that liberation arises through vairāgya (dispassion) and devotion to the Supreme who stands above ordinary social identity and pleasure.

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

The verse describes Saguna Shiva’s iconic marks (Digambara, many arms, attendants), which devotees can visualize in pūjā; yet it simultaneously points to His avyakta nature, aligning Linga-worship with the truth that the manifest form reveals the unmanifest Supreme.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as Digambara—utterly unattached—while repeating the Panchākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”; adopt a simple, restrained lifestyle, and (where traditional) apply Tripuṇḍra bhasma as a reminder of impermanence and renunciation.