Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 33

योगप्रकारनिर्णयः

Classification and Definition of Yoga

Devanagari script

जपं ध्यानं विनागर्भः सगर्भस्तत्समन्वयात् । अगर्भाद्गर्भसंयुक्तः प्राणायामःशताधिकः

Transliteration

japaṃ dhyānaṃ vināgarbhaḥ sagarbhastatsamanvayāt | agarbhādgarbhasaṃyuktaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥśatādhikaḥ

Translation

يُسمّى الجَپا (ترديد المانترا) والتأمّل «أَغَرْبْهَا» (بلا بذرة) إذا أُدّيا من غير سندٍ باطني؛ فإذا اتّحدا بذلك المبدأ الساند صارا «سَغَرْبْهَا» (ببذرة). وبالمقارنة مع الحالة بلا بذرة، فإن البراناياما المقترنة بـ«البذرة» أسمى بأكثر من مئة ضعف.

Word by Word

• japam: japa (repetition)
• japam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: japa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• dhyānam: meditation
• dhyānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhyāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• vinā: without
• vinā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/absence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: Prepositional indeclinable (उपसर्गसदृश अव्यय), ‘without’; governs instrumental/accusative in usage

• agarbhaḥ: (prāṇāyāma) without garbha
• agarbhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• sagarbhaḥ: (prāṇāyāma) with garbha
• sagarbhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa-garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• tat-samanvayāt: from that conjunction/connection
• tat-samanvayāt: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular; tatpuruṣa: tasya samanvayaḥ (its conjunction/connection)

• agarbhāt: from the agarbha (type)
• agarbhāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular

• garbha-saṃyuktaḥ: combined with garbha
• garbha-saṃyuktaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: garbha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyukta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; tatpuruṣa: garbheṇa saṃyuktaḥ (joined with garbha)

• prāṇāyāmaḥ: prāṇāyāma
• prāṇāyāmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + āyāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• śata-adhikaḥ: more than a hundred
• śata-adhikaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + adhika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; tatpuruṣa: śatena adhikaḥ (exceeding by a hundred / more than a hundred)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya teaching to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: oṃ namaḥ śivāya

Type: panchakshara

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches a graded Shaiva yogic discipline: practices become far more transformative when they are anchored in a “seed”—a stable inner support such as Shiva-mantra, Shiva-tattva contemplation, or focused awareness—rather than being mechanically performed.

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

“Sa-garbha” practice aligns japa, dhyāna, and prāṇāyāma with a concrete support—such as Linga-dhyāna, Shiva’s form, or the Panchākṣarī—so the mind rests in Saguna Shiva and is led toward realization of Shiva as Pati.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Combine prāṇāyāma with mantra-japa and Shiva-focused meditation (e.g., mentally repeating Om Namaḥ Śivāya during regulated breathing), making the practice “with seed” rather than merely breath-control.