Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

तत्कथं शक्यते वक्तुं याथात्म्यं परमेशयोः । महतामपि सर्वेषां मनसो ऽपि बहिर्गतम्

Transliteration

tatkathaṃ śakyate vaktuṃ yāthātmyaṃ parameśayoḥ | mahatāmapi sarveṣāṃ manaso 'pi bahirgatam

Translation

كيف يمكن حقّاً أن يُنطَق بحقيقةِ السادةِ العُليا؟ إنها تتجاوز حتى عقولَ جميع العظماء، وتعلو على مدى الفكر نفسه.

Word by Word

• tat: that (matter)
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन); correlating to the matter under discussion

• katham: how
• katham: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: Interrogative adverb (प्रश्नार्थक क्रियाविशेषण)

• śakyate: is possible/can be
• śakyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śak (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Passive voice (कर्मणि प्रयोग), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• vaktum: to speak
• vaktum: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/अनन्तरक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Infinitive (तुमुन्)

• yāthātmyam: true nature/reality
• yāthātmyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yāthātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• parameśayoḥ: of the two supreme lords
• parameśayoḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parameśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Dual (द्विवचन)

• mahatām: of great (ones)
• mahatām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन); qualifying an implied 'janānām/ṛṣīṇām' etc.

• api: even
• api: Sambandha-dyotaka (सम्बन्धद्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), concessive ‘even’

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• manasaḥ: of the mind
• manasaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha-dyotaka (सम्बन्धद्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), concessive ‘even’

• bahirgatam: gone beyond/outside (the reach)
• bahirgatam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahir-gata (प्रातिपदिक; gata from √gam, क्त)
• Form: Past participle (क्त) used adjectivally; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative, Singular (एकवचन); agreeing with 'yāthātmyam' (understood)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Īśāna

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Parameshvara

FAQs

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

It teaches that Parameshvara’s yāthātmya (ultimate reality) surpasses mental conception and verbal description; liberation arises not from mere speculation but from grace, devotion, and direct yogic realization of Pati.

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

Though Shiva is ultimately beyond mind and speech (nirguna), the Purana upholds saguna worship—especially the Linga—as an accessible support (ālambana) through which the devotee’s mind becomes purified and capable of receiving Shiva’s revelation.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with steady dhyāna, supported by Shaiva disciplines like Tripuṇḍra bhasma and Rudrāksha, to move beyond discursive thought toward inner stillness and Shiva-realization.