Shloka 20

शिवस्यार्द्धनारीनरावतारवर्णनम्

Description of Shiva’s Ardhanārī-nara Manifestation

Devanagari script

शिवे नारीकुलं स्रष्टुं शक्तिं देहि नमोऽस्तु ते । चराचरं जगद्विद्धि हेतोर्मातः शिवं प्रिये

Transliteration

śive nārīkulaṃ sraṣṭuṃ śaktiṃ dehi namo'stu te | carācaraṃ jagadviddhi hetormātaḥ śivaṃ priye

Translation

噢圣母湿婆女神（Śivā），请赐我神圣之力（śakti），使我得以创造众多女性；我向你顶礼。慈爱的母亲啊，当知此一切动与不动的宇宙，皆以湿婆（Śiva）为因而生，噢挚爱者。

Word by Word

• śive: O Śivā (Goddess)
• śive: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śivā/śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन/8), Singular (एकवचन)

• nārīkulam: the lineage of women
• nārīkulam: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī + kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (नारीणां कुलम्)

• sraṣṭum: to create
• sraṣṭum: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sṛj (धातु)
• Form: Tumun-anta infinitive (तुमुन्/infinitive), ‘to create’ (स्रष्टुम्)

• śaktim: power, capability
• śaktim: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• dehi: give (grant)
• dehi: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्/Imperative), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Madhyama-puruṣa (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/formulaic)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक; अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोग)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय) in usage; interjection/indeclinable salutation (नमः)

• astu: let it be
• astu: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्/Imperative/benedictive sense), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Prathama-puruṣa (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान/recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dative (चतुर्थी/4), Singular (एकवचन); pronoun (सर्वनाम)

• carācaram: the moving and the unmoving
• carācaram: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cara + acara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (चर + अचर) समाहारार्थ एकवचन

• jagat: the world
• jagat: Karma (कर्म/object; apposition to carācaram)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• viddhi: know, understand
• viddhi: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्/Imperative), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Madhyama-puruṣa (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• hetoḥ: of the cause/reason
• hetoḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/of)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hetu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Singular (एकवचन)

• mātaḥ: O mother
• mātaḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन/8), Singular (एकवचन)

• śivam: auspicious, beneficent
• śivam: Karma (कर्म/object; predicate complement with viddhi)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• priye: O beloved
• priye: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन/8), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Brahma

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadyojāta

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: namo'stu te

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: creative

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Shivā (Parvati/Shakti)

FAQs

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

It affirms that all creation depends on Śiva as the supreme cause (Pati) and on Śivā/Śakti as His manifest creative power, guiding the devotee to see the world as rooted in the Divine rather than in mere materiality.

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

By declaring Śiva as the causal source of the entire universe, it supports Saguna worship (such as the Śiva-liṅga) as a concrete focus for devotion to the transcendent Lord who nevertheless becomes the ground of all manifested forms through Śakti.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is Śiva-Śakti bhakti with japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) while contemplating that all carācarā (moving and unmoving) existence rests in Śiva as its cause.