Shloka 4

Devanagari script

कदाचित्क्षीरमत्यल्पम्पीतवान्मातुलाश्रमे । ययाचे मातरम्प्रीत्या बहुशो दुग्ध लालसः

Transliteration

kadācitkṣīramatyalpampītavānmātulāśrame | yayāce mātaramprītyā bahuśo dugdha lālasaḥ

Translation

有一次，他住在舅父的道场时，只喝到极少的牛乳。仍渴望牛乳，便怀着亲爱之情，一再向母亲恳求再赐一些。

Word by Word

• kadācit: once, at some time
• kadācit: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kadācit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• kṣīram: milk
• kṣīram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ati-alpam: very little
• ati-alpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati (अव्यय) + alpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (अति + अल्पम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्षीरम् इति विशेषण

• pītavān: drank
• pītavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pā (धातु) + पीतवत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्तवत्-प्रत्यय; perfective past participial, used predicatively); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोग (agentive)

• mātula-āśrame: in the maternal-uncle’s hermitage
• mātula-āśrame: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātula (प्रातिपदिक) + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: मातुलस्य आश्रमः); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• yayāce: begged, asked
• yayāce: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yāc (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mātaram: (his) mother
• mātaram: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• prītyā: with affection
• prītyā: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prīti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• bahuśaḥ: many times
• bahuśaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bahuśaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आवृत्ति/प्रचुरता-वाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• dugdha: milk
• dugdha: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dugdha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; याच्य-वस्तु (thing asked for)

• lālasaḥ: eager, longing
• lālasaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: lālasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्तृ-विशेषण

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga account; the milk-scarcity motif becomes the immediate cause for seeking a higher refuge beyond worldly means.

Significance: Highlights the insufficiency of worldly nourishment, preparing the devotee’s turn toward Śiva as the true sustainer.

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Characters & Entities

• Mother
• Maternal uncle

FAQs

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

The verse highlights human longing expressed innocently; in a Shaiva Siddhanta reading, such desire is refined into devotion—turning attachment (pāśa) into a directed yearning for the Lord (Pati) through love and repeated remembrance.

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

Milk is a classic upacāra offered to the Śiva-liṅga; the repeated asking reflects persistence in approaching Saguna Shiva with simple, heartfelt devotion, which gradually matures toward inner purity and steadiness.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Offer milk (or a simple substitute with sincerity) to Shiva with japa of the Panchakshara—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and cultivate repeated, affectionate remembrance rather than scattered desire.