Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 65

अन्तराय-उपसर्ग-विवेचनम् / Analysis of Yogic Obstacles (Antarāyas) and Upasargas

Devanagari script

विद्युत्समानवर्णे च पर्णे वर्णावसानके । षोडशारस्य पत्राणि स्वराः षोडश तानि वै

Transliteration

vidyutsamānavarṇe ca parṇe varṇāvasānake | ṣoḍaśārasya patrāṇi svarāḥ ṣoḍaśa tāni vai

Translation

Auf einem Blatt, dessen Farbton dem Blitz gleicht und auf dem die Buchstaben in rechter Ordnung gesetzt sind, sind die sechzehn Blätter der sechzehnspeichigen (mystischen) Gestalt wahrlich die sechzehn Vokale.

Word by Word

• vidyut-samāna-varṇe: in/at the lightning-like color
• vidyut-samāna-varṇe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vidyut (प्रातिपदिक) + samāna (प्रातिपदिक) + varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; समासः—विद्युत्समानः इव वर्णः यस्य/यत्र (determinative)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction particle (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• parṇe: in the leaf/petal
• parṇe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• varṇa-avasānake: at the end of the letters/colors
• varṇa-avasānake: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: varṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + avasāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; समासः—वर्णस्य अवसानम् (ending/termination) यस्मिन् (determinative)

• ṣoḍaśa-ārasya: of the sixteen-spoked (wheel/lotus)
• ṣoḍaśa-ārasya: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + āra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (āra as m.), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; द्विगुसमासः—षोडश आराः यस्य (sixteen-spoked)

• patrāṇi: petals/leaves
• patrāṇi: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• svarāḥ: vowels
• svarāḥ: Viśeṣya/Predicate (विधेय/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteen
• ṣoḍaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral adjective; Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural agreement implied with svarāḥ/patrāṇi

• tāni: those (petals)
• tāni: Anuvāda/Referent (अनुवाद)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; demonstrative pronoun

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक/खल्वर्थक अव्यय)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Lalitā

Role: creative

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It presents a yogic-mantric mapping where the sixteen vowels are contemplated as sixteen petals, indicating that sound (śabda) and consciousness are to be purified and internalized for realizing Pati (Shiva) beyond bonds (pāśa).

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

It supports Saguna upāsanā by giving a structured contemplation (letters on petals) that focuses the mind on Shiva’s manifest power as mantra and sacred sound, which then leads the devotee toward the subtler realization of Shiva as the supreme Pati.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditative japa and dhyāna on a mantra-diagram (petals/spokes with letters), mentally placing the sixteen vowels in order while concentrating on Shiva as the indwelling Lord.