Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 16

अनुग्रह-स्वातन्त्र्य-प्रमाणविचारः | Inquiry into Pramāṇa, Divine Autonomy, and Grace

Devanagari script

अत एव हि पूजादौ मूर्त्यात्मपरिकल्पनम् । मूर्त्यात्मनि कृतं साक्षाच्छिव एव कृतं यतः

Transliteration

ata eva hi pūjādau mūrtyātmaparikalpanam | mūrtyātmani kṛtaṃ sākṣācchiva eva kṛtaṃ yataḥ

Translation

Darum soll man gleich zu Beginn der Verehrung die Gottheit als gestaltvoll und als das eigene Selbst vergegenwärtigen. Denn was immer diesem verkörperten Selbst dargebracht und getan wird, wird in Wahrheit unmittelbar Śiva selbst dargebracht und getan.

Word by Word

• ataḥ: therefore
• ataḥ: Hetu (हेतु/Reason)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), तस्मात्-अर्थे (ablatival adverb: 'therefore/from that')

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), अवधारणार्थक-निपात (particle of emphasis)

• hi: for/indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), निपात (explanatory particle)

• pūjā-ādau: at the beginning of worship (etc.)
• pūjā-ādau: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūjā (पूजा, प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (आदि, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (Avyayībhāva: 'in the beginning of worship etc.'); पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग? (ādi as masc; compound treated as masculine), सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular)

• mūrti-ātma-parikalpanam: the conceptualization (of Śiva) as form and self
• mūrti-ātma-parikalpanam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrti (मूर्ति, प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (आत्मन्, प्रातिपदिक) + parikalpana (परिकल्पन, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (Tatpuruṣa; determinative: 'conception/arrangement of form and self'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• mūrti-ātmani: in the form-self (i.e., in the embodied Self)
• mūrti-ātmani: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrti (मूर्ति, प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (आत्मन्, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (Tatpuruṣa: 'in the form-self'); पुल्लिङ्ग (ātman masc), सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular)

• kṛtam: done/made
• kṛtam: Karma (कर्म/Object; 'done')
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ, धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (Kṛdanta), भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त/क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle, -kta); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• sākṣāt: directly
• sākṣāt: Kriya-vishesana (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sākṣāt (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• śivaḥ: Śiva
• śivaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (शिव, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (singular)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), अवधारणार्थक-निपात (particle of emphasis)

• kṛtam: done
• kṛtam: Karma (कर्म/Object; 'done')
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ, धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (Kṛdanta), क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yataḥ: because
• yataḥ: Hetu (हेतु/Reason)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), यतस्-शब्दः (causal/relative adverb: 'because/for which reason')

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Tatpuruṣa

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Ritual Elements

Offering: dhupa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that devotional worship is not “mere symbolism”: when the devotee contemplates Śiva as present in the sacred form and as the inner Self, every offering becomes a direct act of communion with Pati (Śiva), supporting liberation through grace.

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

It affirms Saguna-upāsanā: whether one worships the Śiva-liṅga or a visible murti, the act becomes direct worship of Śiva when the devotee recognizes the form as the manifest seat of the formless Lord who indwells it.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Begin pūjā with mūrti-dhyāna: mentally establish Śiva’s living presence in the liṅga/murti and within one’s own heart, then offer upacāras with the attitude that the offering reaches Śiva directly; japa of the Pañcākṣarī ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya") naturally supports this contemplation.