Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 2

कालतत्त्वनिर्णयः / Doctrine of Kāla (Time) and Its Subordination to Śiva

Devanagari script

यदास्यांतर्गतं विश्वं शश्वत्संसारमण्डलम् । सर्गसंहृतिमुद्राभ्यां चक्रवत्परिवर्तते

Transliteration

yadāsyāṃtargataṃ viśvaṃ śaśvatsaṃsāramaṇḍalam | sargasaṃhṛtimudrābhyāṃ cakravatparivartate

Translation

حين يكون هذا الكون—عجلة السَّمْسَارَا الأبدية—مستقرًّا في داخله، يدور كالعجلة الدائرة بفضل خَتْمَيِ الخلق والفناء (المُدْرَا).

Word by Word

• yadā: when
• yadā: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

• asyām: in this (in her/it)
• asyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; locative

• antargatam: entered within, contained
• antargatam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: antar (अव्यय/उपसर्ग-प्रातिपदिक) + gata (गम्-धातु, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; अन्तरं गतम् = entered within

• viśvam: universe
• viśvam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• śaśvat: always, perpetual
• śaśvat: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śaśvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नित्यत्ववाचक (adverb)

• saṃsāra-maṇḍalam: cycle-orb of saṃsāra
• saṃsāra-maṇḍalam: Apposition (समानााधिकरण/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक) + maṇḍala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; संसारस्य मण्डलम् = cycle/sphere of transmigration

• sarga-saṃhṛti-mudrābhyām: by the creation-and-dissolution seals
• sarga-saṃhṛti-mudrābhyām: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarga (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃhṛti (प्रातिपदिक) + mudrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), द्विवचन; ‘by the seals/gestures of creation and dissolution’ (compound as determinative)

• cakravat: like a wheel
• cakravat: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cakravat (अव्यय/तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (comparative adverb)

• parivartate: turns, revolves
• parivartate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-vṛt (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Shakti Dimension

Role: creative

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: kalpa-cycle implied: recurring sṛṣṭi and pralaya as rotation of saṃsāra

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that saṃsāra is a recurring wheel that operates within Shiva’s sovereignty; liberation arises by recognizing Shiva (Pati) as the inner ground beyond the cycle of creation and dissolution.

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

The Liṅga signifies Shiva as the all-supporting, inward reality in whom the cosmos is contained; worship of Saguna Shiva trains the mind to see the world’s cycles as governed by His power, not as independent absolutes.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on the turning of the “saṃsāra-wheel” while repeating the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), contemplating Shiva as the inner witness who remains steady while creation and dissolution revolve.