Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 28

शक्तितत्त्ववर्णनम् / Exposition of the Principle of Śakti

Devanagari script

प्रसादपूर्विका येयं भुक्तिमुक्तिविधायिनी । नैव सा शक्यते प्राप्तुं नरैरेकेन जन्मना

Transliteration

prasādapūrvikā yeyaṃ bhuktimuktividhāyinī | naiva sā śakyate prāptuṃ narairekena janmanā

Translation

Diese geistige Erlangung, der die Gnade des Herrn vorausgeht, schenkt sowohl weltlichen Genuss als auch Befreiung; doch kann der Mensch sie nicht in nur einem Leben erlangen.

Word by Word

• prasāda-pūrvikā: preceded by grace
• prasāda-pūrvikā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prasāda (प्रातिपदिक) + pūrvikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: प्रसादपूर्वा/प्रसादेन पूर्विका (preceded by grace)

• yā: which
• yā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• iyam: this
• iyam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (demonstrative pronoun)

• bhukti-mukti-vidhāyinī: bestowing enjoyment and liberation
• bhukti-mukti-vidhāyinī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhukti (प्रातिपदिक) + mukti (प्रातिपदिक) + vidhāyinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-पूर्वपद (bhukti+mukti) + तत्पुरुष: (भुक्तिं च मुक्तिं च) विधत्ते इति (one who bestows enjoyment and liberation)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध/Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• eva: at all/indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

• sā: that (devotion/grace)
• sā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• śakyate: is possible
• śakyate: Kriyā (क्रिया/Finite verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śak (शक् धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense): ‘is possible’

• prāptum: to obtain
• prāptum: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/Purpose complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (आप् धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (Infinitive), अव्यय; ‘to obtain’

• naraiḥ: by men
• naraiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• ekena: with one
• ekena: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण (numeral adjective)

• janmanā: by (a single) birth
• janmanā: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: Stresses that bhukti-mukti are not instant acquisitions; pilgrimage and vrata are framed as long-term saṃskāra-building that matures across lives under Śiva’s prasāda.

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that both bhukti (legitimate worldly fulfillment) and mukti (liberation) arise primarily through Shiva’s prasāda (grace), and that the maturity needed for liberation generally unfolds over more than one lifetime of sādhanā.

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

Linga/Saguna worship is presented as a grace-bearing path: steady devotion, pūjā, and surrender invite Shiva’s prasāda, which gradually loosens pāśa (bondage) and leads the soul toward mukti.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Consistent long-term practice is implied—daily Shiva-pūjā with mantra-japa (especially the Panchakshara, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), supported by disciplines like bhasma/Tripuṇḍra and Rudrākṣa where prescribed, undertaken with humility and reliance on grace.