Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 6

मन्वन्तर-कल्प-प्रश्नोत्तरम् / Discourse on Manvantaras, Kalpas, and Re-creation

Devanagari script

य एव खलु कल्पेषु कल्पः संप्रति वर्तते । तत्र संक्षिप्य वर्तंते सृष्टयः प्रतिसृष्टयः

Transliteration

ya eva khalu kalpeṣu kalpaḥ saṃprati vartate | tatra saṃkṣipya vartaṃte sṛṣṭayaḥ pratisṛṣṭayaḥ

Translation

Wahrlich, unter den Zyklen der Schöpfung ist es gerade der Kalpa, der jetzt im Gange ist, von dem hier die Rede ist. In diesem Kalpa verlaufen Schöpfung und Wiedererschöpfung in verdichteter, zusammengefasster Weise.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: which/that (kalpa)
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Relative pronoun, Puṃliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (emphasis)

• khalu: surely/indeed
• khalu: Sambandha (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: khalu (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle; emphasis/assurance)

• kalpeṣu: among/in the kalpas
• kalpeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī vibhakti (Locative, 7th), Bahuvacana

• kalpaḥ: the kalpa
• kalpaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana

• saṃprati: at present
• saṃprati: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saṃprati (अव्यय)
• Form: Kāla-avyaya (temporal adverb: ‘now/at present’)

• vartate: exists/continues
• vartate: Kriyā (क्रिया/Finite verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛt (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (Present), Prathama puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana, Ātmanepada

• tatra: there/in that (kalpa)
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Deśa-avyaya (adverb: ‘there/in that’)

• saṃkṣipya: having condensed
• saṃkṣipya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया/Gerundial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-kṣip (धातु)
• Form: Ktvā-pratyaya (absolutive/gerund), ‘having condensed/summarized’

• vartante: occur/continue
• vartante: Kriyā (क्रिया/Finite verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛt (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (Present), Prathama puruṣa (3rd), Bahuvacana (Plural), Ātmanepada

• sṛṣṭayaḥ: creations
• sṛṣṭayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti, Bahuvacana

• prati-sṛṣṭayaḥ: counter-creations/secondary creations
• prati-sṛṣṭayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prati (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + sṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti, Bahuvacana

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya in the Vāyavīya Saṃhitā discourse)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadyojāta

Shakti Dimension

Role: creative

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: current kalpa singled out; sṛṣṭi and pratisṛṣṭi (primary/secondary creation)

FAQs

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

It frames worldly existence as cyclical and governed by cosmic law, encouraging dispassion (vairāgya) and turning the mind toward Pati (Shiva), the steady reality beyond recurring creation and re-creation.

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

By highlighting the changing, repeated cosmos, it implicitly points to the Linga/Saguna Shiva as the stable locus of devotion and contemplation within time—worship anchors the seeker in the eternal Lord amid transient cycles.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as the timeless witness of all kalpas while repeating the Panchākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), cultivating detachment from cyclical phenomena and steadiness in devotion.