Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 34

पशु-पाश-पतिविचारः / Inquiry into Paśu, Pāśa, and Pati

Devanagari script

तस्यास्त्ववयवैरेव व्याप्तं सर्वमिदं जगत् । सूक्ष्मातिसूक्ष्ममीशानं कललस्यापि मध्यतः

Transliteration

tasyāstvavayavaireva vyāptaṃ sarvamidaṃ jagat | sūkṣmātisūkṣmamīśānaṃ kalalasyāpi madhyataḥ

Translation

Wahrlich, dieses ganze Universum ist allein von Seinen eigenen Gliedern (Kräften und Aspekten) durchdrungen. Jener Īśāna, feiner als das Feinste, weilt sogar inmitten des kalala (der winzigsten embryonalen Masse) als der innewohnende Herr.

Word by Word

• tasyāḥ: of her/its
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्धबोधक/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विशेषार्थक (particle)

• avayavaiḥ: by the parts/limbs
• avayavaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avayava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्धबोधक/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic particle)

• vyāptam: pervaded
• vyāptam: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानााधिकरण/Predicate adjective)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-āp (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; (sarvam idam jagat) इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• idam: this
• idam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; with jagat)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम; जगत्-विशेषणम्

• jagat: world
• jagat: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• sūkṣma-ati-sūkṣmam: the subtle, exceedingly subtle
• sūkṣma-ati-sūkṣmam: Karma (कर्म/Object; with īśānam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sūkṣma (प्रातिपदिक) + ati (अव्यय) + sūkṣma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (ati-sūkṣmaṃ sūkṣmam)

• īśānam: Īśāna (the Lord)
• īśānam: Karma (कर्म/Object; understood with vidyāt/know)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• kalalasya: of the embryo-mass (kalala)
• kalalasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्धबोधक/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-कार (concessive/inclusive particle)

• madhyataḥ: from the middle/within
• madhyataḥ: Apādāna (अपादान/Source-point; ‘from within’)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Īśāna

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches Shiva (Īśāna) as the all-pervading Pati who is present even in the tiniest forms of life, establishing His immanence and subtle sovereignty over all existence.

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

Linga-worship trains the mind to recognize the formless, subtlest Īśāna through a sacred form; the verse supports this by declaring that the same Lord pervades all forms and also transcends them as the innermost reality.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as the antarātman (indwelling Lord) with japa of the Panchakshara “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” contemplating His presence in the heart and in all beings as subtler than the subtlest.