Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 36

दीक्षितपुत्रस्य दैन्यचिन्ता तथा शिवरात्र्युपासनाप्रसङ्गः / The Initiate’s Son in Distress and the Occasion of Śivarātri Worship

Devanagari script

अपरोपि परो धर्मो जातस्तत्रास्य किंकरः । शृण्वतः शिवनामानि प्रसंगादपि गृह्णताम्

Transliteration

aparopi paro dharmo jātastatrāsya kiṃkaraḥ | śṛṇvataḥ śivanāmāni prasaṃgādapi gṛhṇatām

Translation

在那里，甚至另一件看似次要之举，也会化为至上之法（Dharma），如忠诚侍者般护持于他——当人聆听湿婆之名，即便只是偶然听闻，即便只是随缘顺口领受。

Word by Word

• aparaḥ: another/other
• aparaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (nominative, 1st), Ekavacana (singular); viśeṣaṇa (adjectival)

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; nipāta/particle (emphasis/addition)

• paraḥ: supreme/other (higher)
• paraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa

• dharmaḥ: dharma; religious merit/duty
• dharmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• jātaḥ: arisen/occurred
• jātaḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु) + ta (क्त, Kta)
• Form: Kta-participle (past passive participle), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; bhūta-kāla sense ‘has arisen/been born’

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; deśa-avyaya (locative adverb)

• asya: of him/of this (person)
• asya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (pronoun), Puṃliṅga/napuṃsaka usage, Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (genitive, 6th), Ekavacana

• kiṃkaraḥ: servant/attendant
• kiṃkaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa (ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa) ‘kim karoti iti’/‘one who does (someone’s bidding)’

• śṛṇvataḥ: of (one) who is listening
• śṛṇvataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु) + śatṛ (शतृ)
• Form: Vartamāna-kṛdanta (present active participle, śatṛ), Puṃliṅga/napuṃsaka, Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti, Ekavacana; ‘of (one) listening’

• śiva-nāmāni: names of Śiva
• śiva-nāmāni: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsaka (neuter), Dvitīyā vibhakti (accusative, 2nd), Bahuvacana (plural); tatpuruṣa (ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa) ‘śivasya nāmāni’

• prasaṅgāt: from association/by chance
• prasaṅgāt: Hetu (हेतु/cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasaṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Pañcamī vibhakti (ablative, 5th), Ekavacana

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; nipāta/particle

• gṛhṇatām: let (them) take/accept
• gṛhṇatām: Kriyā (क्रिया/verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: grah (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (imperative/benedictive sense), Parasmaipada, Prathama puruṣa (3rd person), Bahuvacana (plural); ‘let them take/accept’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: General bhakti-doctrine: even incidental contact with Śiva-nāma (hearing/uttering) elevates ‘secondary’ acts into supreme dharma—anugraha operating beyond strict intentionality.

Significance: Śiva-nāma-śravaṇa is itself a tīrtha: even accidental hearing is meritorious and can initiate a turn toward liberation.

Mantra Metadata

Type: panchakshara

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It declares that Śiva-nāma—especially hearing His names—can elevate even an incidental act into the highest Dharma, because contact with Śiva’s name awakens devotion and turns the mind toward Pati (Śiva), loosening bondage.

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

Hearing and taking up Śiva’s names is a direct Saguna-upāsanā (devotional approach to Śiva with attributes), which naturally supports Linga-worship: the name fixes attention on Śiva, and the Linga becomes the stable focus for that devotion.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Practice Śiva-nāma-śravaṇa and nāma-japa—regularly listen to recitations of Śiva’s names and repeat them (e.g., with the Panchākṣarī ‘Om Namaḥ Śivāya’), even in daily life, so that remembrance becomes continuous.