Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 9

अवभृथस्नान-तीर्थयात्रा-तेजोदर्शनम् | Avabhṛtha Bath, Tīrtha-Pilgrimage, and the Vision of Divine Radiance

Devanagari script

सूर्यकोटिप्रतीकाशं तेजोदिव्यं महाद्भुतम् । आत्मप्रभावितानेन व्याप्तसर्वदिगन्तरम्

Transliteration

sūryakoṭipratīkāśaṃ tejodivyaṃ mahādbhutam | ātmaprabhāvitānena vyāptasarvadigantaram

Translation

Es leuchtete mit einem Glanz wie von zehn Millionen Sonnen—göttlicher Tejas, höchst wundersam—dessen selbstgeborene Strahlkraft die Zwischenräume aller Richtungen durchdrang.

Word by Word

• सूर्यकोटिप्रतीकाशम्: like ten million suns (in brilliance)
• सूर्यकोटिप्रतीकाशम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रतीकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सूर्यकोटीनां प्रतीकाशः = “having the appearance of crores of suns”); नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन (qualifying “तेजः”)

• तेजः: radiance, splendor
• तेजः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (here: subject “the radiance”)

• दिव्यम्: divine
• दिव्यम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (agreeing with “तेजः”)

• महा: great
• महा: समासाङ्ग (Compound member)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पूर्वपद (indeclinable-like adjectival stem) used in compound with अद्भुत; समासाङ्ग

• अद्भुतम्: wonderful, astonishing
• अद्भुतम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अद्भुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (महा च तत् अद्भुतम्); नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (agreeing with “तेजः”)

• आत्म: self
• आत्म: समासाङ्ग (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद (self); समासाङ्ग

• प्रभावित: empowered/manifested by (its) own power
• प्रभावित: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + भू (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/Past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (agreeing with “तेजः”)

• अनेन: by this
• अनेन: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचन (Instrumental: “by this”)

• व्याप्त: pervading, spread over
• व्याप्त: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्याप् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/Past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (agreeing with “तेजः”)

• सर्व: all
• सर्व: समासाङ्ग (Compound member)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद; समासाङ्ग

• दिगन्तरम्: the regions between the directions / all quarters
• दिगन्तरम्: कर्म (Karma/Object of pervading, in sense)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (दिशां अन्तरम् = “the spaces/intervals of the directions”); नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचन (as part of larger compound-object)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya discourse to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha

Sthala Purana: The Kāśī-liṅga’s glory is expressed through the motif of overwhelming tejas—Śiva’s self-luminous presence that outshines worldly lights and reveals the transcendent Lord to devotees.

Significance: Contemplation of Śiva’s tejas in Kāśī is treated as a direct sign of grace, strengthening vairāgya and bhakti and orienting the soul toward liberation.

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: A theophany described as ‘ten million suns’—a purāṇic idiom for transcendent, non-material luminosity pervading all directions.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse points to Shiva’s supreme tejas—an all-pervading, self-manifest radiance—indicating Pati (the Lord) as the transcendent reality that surpasses worldly light and pervades all space, drawing the soul toward liberation.

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

Such “light beyond suns” is a classic marker of Shiva’s presence as Jyoti and as the inner essence of the Linga: devotees approach Saguna worship (form, symbol, ritual) to realize the Nirguna truth (limitless, all-pervading consciousness) it signifies.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as an all-encompassing sphere of light while repeating the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” ideally after applying Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and steadying the breath, letting awareness expand “in all directions.”