Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 32

पञ्चाक्षर-षडक्षरमन्त्र-माहात्म्यम् | The Greatness of the Pañcākṣara/Ṣaḍakṣara Mantra

Devanagari script

सप्तकोटिमहामन्त्रैरुपमन्त्रैरनेकधा । मन्त्रः षडक्षरो भिन्नस्सूत्रं वृत्यात्मना यथा

Transliteration

saptakoṭimahāmantrairupamantrairanekadhā | mantraḥ ṣaḍakṣaro bhinnassūtraṃ vṛtyātmanā yathā

Translation

Obwohl er auf unzählige Weisen durch sieben Krore großer Mantras und viele Nebenmantras ausgedrückt wird, ist das sechssilbige Mantra seinem Wesen nach eines—wie ein einziger Faden, der durch verschiedene Verwendungsweisen als vielfältige Formen erscheint.

Word by Word

• sapta-koṭi-mahā-mantraiḥ: with the great mantras of seven crores
• sapta-koṭi-mahā-mantraiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + koṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); multi-member tatpuruṣa ‘by/with the great mantras of seven crores’

• upa-mantraiḥ: with subsidiary mantras
• upa-mantraiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upa (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); ‘with subsidiary mantras’

• aneka-dhā: in many ways
• aneka-dhā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aneka (प्रातिपदिक) + dhā (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Adverb (अव्यय) ‘in many ways’

• mantraḥ: the mantra
• mantraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• ṣaḍ-akṣaraḥ: the six-syllabled (mantra)
• ṣaḍ-akṣaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + akṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; dvigu ‘the six-syllabled (one)’

• bhinnaḥ: is distinct/separate
• bhinnaḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/भाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhid (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate to ‘mantraḥ/ṣaḍakṣaraḥ’

• sūtram: thread/sūtra
• sūtram: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūtra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन); used in simile as standard of comparison

• vṛti-ātmanā: by its functional nature/mode
• vṛti-ātmanā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛti (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa ‘by/with (its) mode/nature of functioning’

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Upamā-dyotaka (उपमा-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Comparative indeclinable (उपमा-बोधक अव्यय) ‘as/just as’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: oṃ namaḥ śivāya

Type: panchakshara

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that the many mantras used in Shaiva worship are expressions of one underlying Mantra-principle of Shiva; multiplicity belongs to practice and function, while the essence is a single path toward grace and liberation.

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

Just as one Shiva is adored through many forms (including the Linga), one mantra is applied through many ritual and contemplative variations; Saguna supports the seeker’s approach, while the mantra’s inner unity points toward the higher, formless truth.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Hold to one chosen Shiva-mantra (the six-syllabled mantra) with steady japa and dhyana, while treating auxiliary mantras as supportive—like different uses of one thread—rather than as competing paths.