Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 7
प्रणवविभागः—वेदस्वरूपत्वं लिङ्गे च प्रतिष्ठा
The Division of Oṃ, Its Vedic Forms, and Its Placement in the Liṅga
तत्राकारो ऋगभवदुकारो यजुरव्ययः । मकारस्साम संजातो नादस्त्वाथर्वणी श्रुतिः
tatrākāro ṛgabhavadukāro yajuravyayaḥ | makārassāma saṃjāto nādastvātharvaṇī śrutiḥ
Dort wurde die Silbe „A“ zum Ṛgveda; die Silbe „U“ zum unvergänglichen Yajurveda. Die Silbe „M“ entstand als Sāmaveda, und der nāda — der innere Nachklang — wurde zur Atharva-śruti. So wird Oṁ als Same der vedischen Offenbarung gelehrt und weist auf Śiva als Herrn des Klanges (Śabda) und Spender befreienden Wissens.
Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya teaching to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Sthala Purana: Not a shrine narrative; it is a cosmogonic-revelatory mapping: A-U-M and nāda generate/ground the four Vedas, presenting Śiva (as Praṇava) as source of śruti.
Significance: Frames Veda-study and mantra-practice as pilgrimage to the source of revelation—Śiva as Śabda-brahman—yielding jñāna conducive to liberation.
Type: rudram
Role: teaching
Cosmic Event: cosmogonic revelation of śruti from Praṇava
FAQs
It teaches that Oṃ (A-U-M and nāda) is the seed of all Vedic śruti, implying that sacred sound originates in the Supreme—understood in the Vāyavīya discourse as Śiva, the lord of nāda—so meditation on Oṃ supports inner purification and liberation-oriented knowledge.
In Śaiva practice, the Liṅga is worshipped with mantra and Vedic recitation; this verse grounds that ritual sound in Oṃ itself. Saguna worship (form-based) is empowered by śabda (mantra), while the contemplation of Oṃ and nāda points beyond forms toward Śiva’s subtler, transcendent reality.
Japa and dhyāna of Oṃ—especially listening inwardly to nāda—along with Śiva-mantra practice (such as Pañcākṣarī, preceded by Oṃ) is suggested as a direct method to align worship and meditation with the Vedic source-sound.