Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 15

शुक्रोत्पत्तिः तथा महेश्वरदर्शनम् (Śukra’s Emergence and the Vision of Maheśvara)

Devanagari script

मृत्योर्मृत्युं महासेनं श्मशानारण्यवासिनम् । रागं विरागं रागांधं वीतरागशताचितम्

Transliteration

mṛtyormṛtyuṃ mahāsenaṃ śmaśānāraṇyavāsinam | rāgaṃ virāgaṃ rāgāṃdhaṃ vītarāgaśatācitam

Translation

祂是“死亡之死”，是大军的统帅，居于火葬场与林野幽寂之处。人们见祂既为贪爱亦为离贪；既似被贪欲蒙蔽者，又似以百般无贪之心而庄严者。

Word by Word

• मृत्योः: of death
• मृत्योः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• मृत्युम्: death
• मृत्युम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• महासेनम्: Mahāsena (great commander)
• महासेनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + sena (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय: mahā senā yasya/mahāsenaḥ), Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• श्मशान-अरण्य-वासिनम्: dwelling in cremation-grounds and forests
• श्मशान-अरण्य-वासिनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śmaśāna (प्रातिपदिक) + araṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष: śmaśāne araṇye vā vasati), Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• रागम्: passion; attachment
• रागम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• वि-रागम्: dispassion
• वि-रागम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vi (उपसर्ग) + rāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; ‘vi-’ as prefix indicating opposite/absence

• राग-अन्धम्: blinded by passion
• राग-अन्धम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rāga (प्रातिपदिक) + andha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष: rāgena andhaḥ), Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• वीत-राग-शत-अचितम्: heaped with hundreds of (states of) freedom-from-passion
• वीत-राग-शत-अचितम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vīta (प्रातिपदिक; क्त from √i with vi- ‘gone away’) + rāga (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या) + acita (प्रातिपदिक; क्त from √ci)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष; multi-member), Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; vīta-rāga = ‘free from passion’; śata-acita = ‘accumulated in hundreds’

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the glory and epithets of Lord Shiva within the Yuddhakhaṇḍa context)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Mahākāla is praised as mṛtyuñjaya—‘death of death’; the Ujjayinī liṅga is famed for granting victory over untimely death and fear, aligning with cremation-ground (śmaśāna) symbolism and time-transcendence.

Significance: Mṛtyu-bhaya-nivṛtti (removal of fear of death), protection, and steadiness in vairāgya; especially sought for longevity and inner fearlessness.

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse proclaims Shiva as the transcendent Lord (Pati) who defeats death and fear, and who also pervades all states of the soul—attachment and detachment—yet remains the liberator who leads the bound being (paśu) beyond bondage (pāśa) into freedom.

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

By describing Shiva through paradoxical attributes (dweller of the cremation-ground yet supreme commander; passion yet dispassion), it supports Saguna worship such as the Śiva-liṅga as a compassionate, approachable form, while pointing beyond form to the Nirguna reality that is untouched by all opposites.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as “mṛtyor mṛtyu” to dissolve fear and clinging; combine japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with inner vairāgya (detachment). If following Purāṇic practice, adopt Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and Rudrākṣa as reminders of impermanence and Shiva’s liberating grace.