Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 3

परस्य दुर्‍निर्णयः—षट्कुलीयमुनिविवादः तथा ब्रह्मदर्शनार्थं मेरुप्रयाणम् | The Dispute of the Six-Lineage Sages on the Supreme and Their Journey to Brahmā at Meru

Devanagari script

इदं परमिदं नेति विवादस्सुमहानभूत् । परस्य दुर्निरूपत्वान्न जातस्तत्र निश्चयः

Transliteration

idaṃ paramidaṃ neti vivādassumahānabhūt | parasya durnirūpatvānna jātastatra niścayaḥ

Translation

Da erhob sich ein gewaltiger Streit: Die einen sagten „Dies ist das Höchste“, die anderen „Nein, dies ist es nicht“. Doch kam dort kein fester Entschluss zustande, denn das Höchste (Pati) ist schwer zu bestimmen und lässt sich nicht durch gewöhnliche Beschreibung festnageln.

Word by Word

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma (कर्म/द्वितीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• परम्: supreme/other
• परम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma (कर्म/द्वितीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण-निपात (quotative particle)

• विवादः: dispute
• विवादः: Karta (कर्ता/प्रथमा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विवाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सु-महान्: very great
• सु-महान्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (अव्यय/उपसर्ग-प्राय) + महान् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः/उपपद-समासप्रायः (अतिशयेन महान्) — ‘very great’; ‘विवादः’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• अभूत्: arose/became
• अभूत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist/लुङ्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• परस्य: of the supreme (reality)
• परस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• दुर्-निरूपत्वात्: because of (its) being hard to define
• दुर्-निरूपत्वात्: Hetu (हेतु/पञ्चमी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + निरूपत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; हेतौ पञ्चमी (ablative of cause); समासः उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (दुष्करं निरूपणं यस्य तत्)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• जातः: arisen
• जातः: Kriya (क्रिया/कृदन्त)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP) ‘born/arisen’; ‘न जातः’ = ‘did not arise’

• तत्र: there/in that matter
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

• निश्चयः: certainty/decision
• निश्चयः: Karta (कर्ता/प्रथमा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निश्चय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīyasaṃhitā discourse to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that the Supreme Lord (Pati/Shiva) is beyond the reach of mere conceptual debate; certainty arises not from argument but from purification, devotion, and direct insight into Shiva’s reality.

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

Since the Supreme is hard to define in words, the Shiva Purana supports approaching Him through accessible sacred forms—especially the Shiva Linga—where saguna worship becomes a doorway to realizing the nirguna, indescribable Pati.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Shift from dispute to sadhana: japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), steady dhyana on Shiva (often through the Linga), and traditional Shaiva disciplines like bhasma/tripundra and rudraksha to stabilize devotion and inner clarity.