Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 10

Śiva’s Freedom from Bondage and His Cosmic Support (शिवस्य अबन्धत्वं तथा सर्वाधिष्ठानत्वम्)

Devanagari script

स शिवस्सर्वमेवेदमधिष्ठाय स्वशक्तिभिः । अप्रच्युतस्स्वतो भावः स्थितः स्थाणुरतः स्मृतः

Transliteration

sa śivassarvamevedamadhiṣṭhāya svaśaktibhiḥ | apracyutassvato bhāvaḥ sthitaḥ sthāṇurataḥ smṛtaḥ

Translation

Jener Śiva, der dieses ganze Universum durch Seine eigenen Śaktis trägt, bleibt unfehlbar und aus sich selbst seiend in Seinem wesenhaften Sein. Ewig standhaft verweilend, wird Er daher als Sthāṇu, der Unbewegliche Herr, erinnert.

Word by Word

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Kartā (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; pronoun

• śivaḥ: Śiva
• śivaḥ: Kartā (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular (apposition to ‘saḥ’)

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; qualifying ‘idam’

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle/अवधारणार्थक अव्यय

• idam: this (universe)
• idam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; pronoun

• adhiṣṭhāya: having presided over
• adhiṣṭhāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial to main predication)
• Type: Verb
• Root: adhi-√sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), ‘having presided over / having established’

• sva-śaktibhiḥ: with his own powers
• sva-śaktibhiḥ: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): svāḥ śaktayaḥ ‘his own powers’

• a-pracyutaḥ: unfallen, unshaken
• a-pracyutaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- + pracyuta (प्रच्युत, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; pra-√cyu/च्यु धातु)
• Form: Negative past participle (नञ्-युक्त क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular; qualifying ‘bhāvaḥ/śivaḥ’

• svataḥ: of himself / inherently
• svataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Ablatival adverb/तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (‘by oneself, of itself, from itself’)

• bhāvaḥ: state/being, essence
• bhāvaḥ: Kartā (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• sthitaḥ: steadfast, established
• sthitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthita (स्थित, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √sthā/स्था धातु)
• Form: Past participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular; qualifying ‘bhāvaḥ’

• sthāṇuḥ: the Immovable One (Sthāṇu)
• sthāṇuḥ: Kartā (कर्ता/Subject) (apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; epithet

• ataḥ: therefore
• ataḥ: Hetu (हेतु/Cause)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Causal/ablatival adverb/तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (‘therefore/from this’)

• smṛtaḥ: is called/remembered as
• smṛtaḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/Predicate, nominal)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛta (स्मृत, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √smṛ/स्मृ धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular; used predicatively ‘is called/considered’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Īśāna

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: nurturing

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches Shiva as Pati—the supreme Lord who pervades and governs all through His Śaktis, yet remains eternally unchanged in His own nature, the stable ground of liberation.

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

The Linga signifies Shiva’s steadfast, formless reality (Nirguṇa) while also serving as a Saguna focus for devotion; this verse explains why Shiva is called Sthāṇu—unchanging even while supporting cosmic functions.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as “Sthāṇu” (the unmoving witness) while repeating the Pañcākṣarī—Om Namaḥ Śivāya—cultivating inner steadiness and detachment from change.