Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 20

सत्याः पुनस्तपश्चर्या — Satī’s Return to Austerity (Tapas) and Fearless Liṅga-Worship

Devanagari script

सो ऽपि श्रुत्वा विधिर्दुःखं सुराणां कृपयान्वितः । आसीद्दैत्यवधायैव स्मृत्वा हेत्वाश्रयां कथाम्

Transliteration

so 'pi śrutvā vidhirduḥkhaṃ surāṇāṃ kṛpayānvitaḥ | āsīddaityavadhāyaiva smṛtvā hetvāśrayāṃ kathām

Translation

فلمّا سمع براهما (المُقَدِّر) ضيقَ الآلهة، امتلأ رحمةً، فعزم على إهلاك الشياطين (الأسورا)، مستحضرًا الرواية القائمة على العِلّة—الوسيلةَ والسببَ اللذين بهما يتحقق ذلك المقصد.

Word by Word

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā Ekavacana; pronoun

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta ‘also/even’

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रु) (कृदन्त: त्वा, absolutive)
• Form: Kṛdanta absolutive (क्त्वा/त्वा) indicating prior action

• vidhiḥ: Brahmā (the Ordainer)
• vidhiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā Ekavacana (name/title for Brahmā as ‘the Ordainer’)

• duḥkham: sorrow, distress
• duḥkham: Karma (कर्म) (object of śrutvā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitīyā Ekavacana

• surāṇām: of the gods
• surāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī Bahuvacana

• kṛpayā: with compassion
• kṛpayā: Karaṇa (करण) / Hetu (cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛpā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Tṛtīyā (तृतीया) Ekavacana; instrumental

• anvitaḥ: endowed (with)
• anvitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anu-√i (इ) (कृदन्त: क्त, PPP) / anvita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Kṛdanta/derived adjective ‘endowed/possessed’; Puṃliṅga, Prathamā Ekavacana; agrees with vidhiḥ

• āsīt: was, became
• āsīt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्)
• Form: Laṅ (लङ्, Imperfect), Prathama-puruṣa Ekavacana; Parasmaipada

• daitya-vadhāya: for the slaying of the demons
• daitya-vadhāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान) / Prayojana-dative
• Type: Noun
• Root: daitya (प्रातिपदिक) + vadha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘daityānāṃ vadhaḥ’; Puṃliṅga, Caturthī (चतुर्थी) Ekavacana; dative of purpose

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa-nipāta ‘indeed/only’

• smṛtvā: having remembered
• smṛtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (स्मृ) (कृदन्त: त्वा, absolutive)
• Form: Kṛdanta absolutive (त्वा) prior action

• hetu-āśrayām: based on the cause/reason
• hetu-āśrayām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hetu (प्रातिपदिक) + āśraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘hetum āśrayā’ = ‘based on a cause’; Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā Ekavacana; agrees with kathām

• kathām: the account/story
• kathām: Karma (कर्म) (object of smṛtvā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kathā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā Ekavacana

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Devas
• Daityas

FAQs

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

It highlights how compassionate resolve must be joined with right means (hetu) and lawful order (vidhi). In Shaiva understanding, even cosmic administrators act within a higher intelligible order ultimately grounded in Pati (Śiva).

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

Though Śiva is not named in the verse, the Vāyavīyasaṃhitā frames cosmic events as unfolding under the supreme Lord’s governance. Linga/Saguna-Śiva worship trains the devotee to align intention (compassion) with dharmic means, mirroring this divine order.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The takeaway is to act after recollecting the proper cause and method—practically supported by japa of the Panchākṣarī ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") before undertaking any dharmic resolve, to steady intention and purify means.