Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 46

ध्यानप्रकारनिर्णयः / Determination of the Modes of Meditation

on Śrīkaṇṭha-Śiva

Devanagari script

अथवा क्षुद्रमित्येव मत्वा वैषयिकं सुखम् । त्यक्त्वा विरागयोगेन स्वेच्छया कर्म मुच्यताम्

Transliteration

athavā kṣudramityeva matvā vaiṣayikaṃ sukham | tyaktvā virāgayogena svecchayā karma mucyatām

Translation

Oder auch: Erkennend, dass sinngeborene Freude wahrlich gering ist, soll man sie aufgeben; durch die Übung des Virāga‑Yoga (Yoga der Unanhaftung) und aus eigenem entschlossenen Willen werde man von der Bindung an Karma befreit.

Word by Word

• athavā: or else
• athavā: Vākya-sambandha (वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय) + vā (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable discourse/alternative marker (निपातसमूह)

• kṣudram: paltry
• kṣudram: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; predicative with sukham

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākya-prakāśaka (वाक्यप्रकाशक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (उद्धरण-निपात)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (अवधारण-निपात)

• matvā: having considered
• matvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: man (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त) from √man ‘to think/consider’

• vaiṣayikam: sensual/worldly
• vaiṣayikam: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaiṣayika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; agrees with sukham

• sukham: pleasure
• sukham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• tyaktvā: having abandoned
• tyaktvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tyaj (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त) from √tyaj

• virāga-yogena: by the yoga of dispassion
• virāga-yogena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: virāga (प्रातिपदिक) + yoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी): ‘virāgasya yogaḥ’ / yoga characterized by dispassion

• sva-icchayā: by one’s own will
• sva-icchayā: Karaṇa/Hetu (करण/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + icchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष (कर्मधारय): ‘one’s own will’

• karma: karma (action/bond of action)
• karma: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; subject of mucyatām

• mucyatām: let (it) be freed
• mucyatām: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular; Ātmanepada; Passive sense ‘let it be released’ (कर्मणि-प्रयोग)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: General instruction: sense-pleasures are ‘kṣudra’ (trifling) and function as binding factors; release comes through virāga-yoga and deliberate resolve.

Significance: Encourages vairāgya as a prerequisite for effective sādhana; reframes worldly sukha as a form of pāśa (bondage) to be transcended.

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that worldly, sense-based pleasures are inherently small and binding; by cultivating virāga (dispassion) one loosens pasha (bondage) and becomes fit for Shiva’s liberating grace, culminating in freedom from karmic compulsion.

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

Dispassion supports steady Linga-upāsanā: when the mind stops chasing sense-objects, it can remain collected in devotion to Saguna Shiva (as the Linga), allowing worship to mature from desire-driven ritual into purification and inner surrender.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The practical takeaway is vairāgya-yoga: reduce indulgence, practice japa of Shiva’s name (especially the Panchākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and meditate with a detached mind; such discipline weakens karmic tendencies and supports liberation.