Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 37

शक्तितत्त्ववर्णनम् / Exposition of the Principle of Śakti

Devanagari script

तपः कर्म जपो ध्यानं ज्ञानं चेति समासतः । कर्मलिङ्गार्चनाद्यं च तपश्चान्द्रायणादिकम्

Transliteration

tapaḥ karma japo dhyānaṃ jñānaṃ ceti samāsataḥ | karmaliṅgārcanādyaṃ ca tapaścāndrāyaṇādikam

Translation

وخلاصةُ السُّلوك: التَّقشّف (تَبَس)، والعملُ الطقسيّ (كَرما)، وترديدُ المانترا (جَپا)، والتأمّل (دهيانا)، والمعرفةُ الروحية (جْنيانا). ويشمل العملُ الطقسيّ عبادةَ شِيفا-لينغا وما يتصل بها من مراسيم؛ ويشمل التَّقشّف نذورًا مثل تشاندرايانا (Cāndrāyaṇa) وسائر الكفّارات.

Word by Word

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma/Viṣaya (कर्म/विषय; item in enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘austerity’

• karma: ritual action
• karma: Karma/Viṣaya (कर्म/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘ritual action’

• japaḥ: japa (repetition)
• japaḥ: Karma/Viṣaya (कर्म/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: japa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘recitation’

• dhyānam: meditation
• dhyānam: Karma/Viṣaya (कर्म/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhyāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘meditation’

• jñānam: knowledge
• jñānam: Karma/Viṣaya (कर्म/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘knowledge’

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyārtha-dyotaka (वाक्यार्थ-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्तिसूचक-अव्यय (quotative/marker ‘thus’)

• samāsataḥ: in summary
• samāsataḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samāsatas (अव्यय; समासतः)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘in brief/summarily’

• karma-liṅga-arcana-ādyam: (ritual) beginning with liṅga-worship
• karma-liṅga-arcana-ādyam: Karma/Viṣaya (कर्म/विषय; item in enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karma-liṅga-arcana-ādi (प्रातिपदिक; कर्म + लिङ्ग + अर्चन + आदि)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘beginning with worship of the liṅga as a rite’ (ādi-sense)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma/Viṣaya (कर्म/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘austerity’

• cāndrāyaṇa-ādikam: such as the Cāndrāyaṇa (vow)
• cāndrāyaṇa-ādikam: Karma/Viṣaya (कर्म/विषय; appositional specification of tapaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāndrāyaṇa-ādi (प्रातिपदिक; चान्द्रायण + आदि)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘beginning with the Cāndrāyaṇa (vow)’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Linga

FAQs

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

It classifies the main Shaiva means of purification and liberation—tapas, karma, japa, dhyana, and jnana—showing that outer discipline and inner realization work together to remove bonds (pāśa) and orient the soul (paśu) toward Shiva (Pati).

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

It explicitly places liṅgārcana (worship of the Shiva-liṅga) under karma, affirming Saguna worship as a valid and powerful practice that steadies devotion and prepares the aspirant for deeper meditation and knowledge.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The verse points to liṅga-arcana as a key ritual practice and to japa and dhyāna as inner disciplines; it also mentions austerities like the Cāndrāyaṇa vow as structured penance for purification before intensified sādhanā.