Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 19

पूजाविधान-व्याख्या (Pūjāvidhāna-vyākhyā) — Exposition of the Procedure of Worship

Devanagari script

मन्त्रन्यासादिकां चापि कृत्वा स्वस्यां तनौ यथा । अस्यां मूर्तौ मूर्तिमंतं शिवं सदसतः परम्

Transliteration

mantranyāsādikāṃ cāpi kṛtvā svasyāṃ tanau yathā | asyāṃ mūrtau mūrtimaṃtaṃ śivaṃ sadasataḥ param

Translation

Nachdem man Mantra-nyāsa und die damit verbundenen Riten am eigenen Leib nach der Vorschrift vollzogen hat, soll man Śiva betrachten—der aus Gnade Gestalt annimmt und doch erhaben ist über Manifestes und Unmanifestes—als hier gegenwärtig, in dieser mūrti selbst.

Word by Word

• mantra-nyāsa-ādikām: (rites) such as mantra-installation etc.
• mantra-nyāsa-ādikām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक) + nyāsa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Dvitīyā (Acc./2nd), Ekavacana; samāhāra/collection sense: “(acts) beginning with mantra-nyāsa”

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (conjunction)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (particle: also)

• kṛtvā: having performed
• kṛtvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय), “having done”; avyaya-kriyāviśeṣaṇa

• svasyām: in one’s own
• svasyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Saptamī (Loc./7th), Ekavacana; sarvanāma-prayoga; refers to ‘one’s own (body)’

• tanau: body
• tanau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Saptamī (Loc./7th), Ekavacana

• yathā: as/according to
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (adverb/conjunction: ‘as/according to’)

• asyām: in this
• asyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Saptamī (Loc./7th), Ekavacana; demonstrative pronoun

• mūrtau: form/icon
• mūrtau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Saptamī (Loc./7th), Ekavacana

• mūrtimantam: embodied
• mūrtimantam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūrtimat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Dvitīyā (Acc./2nd), Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of śivam

• śivam: Śiva
• śivam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Dvitīyā (Acc./2nd), Ekavacana

• sat-asataḥ: of the real and unreal
• sat-asataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + asat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), Ṣaṣṭhī (Gen./6th), Ekavacana; itaretara-dvandva in sense ‘of being and non-being’

• param: supreme/beyond
• param: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Dvitīyā (Acc./2nd), Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of śivam

Speaker

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

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that worship begins with inner consecration (nyāsa), so the body becomes a fit seat for awareness of Shiva, who is worshipped in form yet remains the Supreme beyond all categories of existence and non-existence.

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

It affirms saguna-upāsanā: after sanctifying oneself through mantra-nyāsa, the devotee invokes and contemplates Shiva’s real presence in the worshipped form (mūrti/liṅga), while remembering that His essence transcends both the manifest and the unmanifest.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Perform mantra-nyāsa (placing the mantra and its power in the limbs/heart), then meditate that Shiva—though beyond all—abides in the chosen icon for worship, making external pūjā and internal dhyāna one continuous practice.