Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 57

समयाह्वय-संस्कारः — Rite of ‘Samayāhvaya’ and the Preparatory Layout

Maṇḍapa, Vedi, Kuṇḍas, Maṇḍala, Śiva-kumbha

Devanagari script

अथापनुद्य स्नानांबु परिधाय सितांबरम् । आचान्तोलंकृतश्शिष्यः प्रांजलिर्मंडपं व्रजेत्

Transliteration

athāpanudya snānāṃbu paridhāya sitāṃbaram | ācāntolaṃkṛtaśśiṣyaḥ prāṃjalirmaṃḍapaṃ vrajet

Translation

Dann, nachdem er das Badewasser abgestreift und reine weiße Gewänder angelegt hat, soll der Schüler—nach vollzogenem Ācamana und angemessener Zier—mit gefalteten Händen zur Maṇḍapa schreiten.

Word by Word

• atha: then/thereupon
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/sequence marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), discourse particle/adverb (अनन्तरार्थक/आरम्भसूचक)

• apanudya: having removed/put aside
• apanudya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: apa-√nud (नुद् धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), from apa-√nud ‘to remove’; indeclinable verbal form

• snāna-ambu: bath-water
• snāna-ambu: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + ambu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): snānasya ambu

• paridhāya: having put on
• paridhāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√dhā (धा धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), from pari-√dhā ‘to put on/wear’

• sita-ambaram: white garment
• sita-ambaram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sita (प्रातिपदिक) + ambara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); कर्मधारय: ‘white’ qualifying ‘garment’

• ācānta: having performed ācamana
• ācānta: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√cam (चम्/आचम् धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Past passive participle (क्त), ‘having sipped (water) / having performed ācamana’; used adjectivally

• alaṃkṛtaḥ: adorned/decorated
• alaṃkṛtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: alaṃ-√kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Past passive participle (क्त); Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

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

• prāñjaliḥ: with folded hands
• prāñjaliḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāñjali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); adjective meaning ‘with joined palms’

• maṇḍapam: the pavilion/mandapa
• maṇḍapam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇḍapa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• vrajet: should go
• vrajet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vraj (व्रज् धातु)
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (विधिलिङ्/optative), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that approaching Shiva’s worship requires inner and outer readiness—purity, self-restraint, and humility—so the practitioner enters the sacred space with a mind oriented to Pati (Shiva) rather than to worldly distraction.

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

The maṇḍapa is the consecrated setting for Saguna Shiva worship, commonly centered on the Shiva-linga; bathing, clean dress, and ācamana are preparatory acts that establish ritual fitness before offering upacāras to the Linga.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It explicitly prescribes snāna (bath), ācamana (ritual sipping/purification), wearing clean white cloth, and entering with añjali (folded hands)—a practical discipline that supports japa and focused devotion during Shiva-puja.