Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 19

शिवशक्त्यैक्य-तत्त्वविचारः / Inquiry into the Unity of Śiva and Śakti

Para–Apara Ontology

Devanagari script

ततः क्रियाख्यया शक्त्या शक्तौ शक्तिमदुत्थया । तस्यां विक्षोभ्यमाणायामादौ नादः समुद्बभौ

Transliteration

tataḥ kriyākhyayā śaktyā śaktau śaktimadutthayā | tasyāṃ vikṣobhyamāṇāyāmādau nādaḥ samudbabhau

Translation

Daraufhin erhob sich durch die Kraft namens Kriyā—hervorgegangen aus dem Träger der Śakti und in der Śakti wirkend—als jene Śakti erstmals in Regung versetzt wurde, der Nāda, der uranfängliche Klang.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) of sequence/origin

• kriyā-ākhyayā: by (the power) called ‘kriyā’
• kriyā-ākhyayā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kriyā (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: kriyāyā ākhyā = ‘named as action’

• śaktyā: by/with the power
• śaktyā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• śaktau: in the power
• śaktau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• śaktimat-utthayā: by (that) arisen from the powerful one
• śaktimat-utthayā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaktimat (प्रातिपदिक) + uttha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: śaktimataḥ utthā = ‘arisen from the possessor of power’

• tasyām: in her/in that (power)
• tasyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); pronoun (सर्वनाम)

• vikṣobhyamāṇāyām: while being agitated
• vikṣobhyamāṇāyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√kṣubh (धातु)
• Form: Present passive participle (वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि कृदन्त/शानच्), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• ādau: in the beginning; at first
• ādau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन) (also used adverbially)

• nādaḥ: sound; nāda
• nādaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• samudbabhau: arose; came forth
• samudbabhau: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ud-√bhū (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: creative

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: first stir (spanda-like) leading to nāda

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Shakti
• Nada

FAQs

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

It points to the Shaiva Siddhanta insight that creation begins when Shiva’s dynamic power (Śakti), moved by Kriyā-śakti, manifests Nāda—the primal vibration that becomes the basis for mantra, consciousness-expansion, and the ordered cosmos.

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

Nāda is a subtle bridge from Nirguṇa to Saguṇa: from the unmanifest Lord to manifest forms. In Linga worship, devotees contemplate Shiva as the source of all emergence—form (liṅga/arcā) supported by the inner reality of vibration (nāda) and presence (śakti).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It supports Nāda-yoga and mantra-japa: sit steadily, regulate breath, and repeat a Shiva-mantra (especially the Panchakshara, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), attending to the subtle inner resonance—recognizing it as arising from Shiva-Śakti.