Shloka 22
Vāmadeva-mata: Rahasya-upadeśa
The Esoteric Teaching of Vāmadeva’s Doctrine
वामदेव उवाच । ॐ नमः प्रणवार्थाय प्रणवार्थविधायिने । प्रणवाक्षरबीजाय प्रण वाय नमोनमः
vāmadeva uvāca | oṃ namaḥ praṇavārthāya praṇavārthavidhāyine | praṇavākṣarabījāya praṇa vāya namonamaḥ
Vāmadeva said: “Om—salutations to the Lord who is the very meaning of Praṇava (Oṁ), who ordains and reveals the meaning of Praṇava, who is the seed (bīja) of the syllables of Praṇava, and who is Himself Praṇava. Salutations again and again.”
Vāmadeva
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Mantra: ॐ नमः प्रणवार्थाय प्रणवार्थविधायिने । प्रणवाक्षरबीजाय प्रणवाय नमोनमः
Type: stotra
FAQs
It declares Shiva as both the transcendent Reality (the meaning behind Oṁ) and the immanent revealer of that meaning—Pati who grants liberating knowledge through mantra, aligning devotion (bhakti) with inner realization.
Even when Shiva is worshipped in a Saguna form such as the Linga, this hymn teaches that the mantra Oṁ points beyond form to Shiva’s supreme essence; the Linga becomes the support (ālambana) for contemplating the formless truth signified by Praṇava.
Japa and dhyāna of Oṁ (Praṇava) with reverence—repeating the mantra while contemplating Shiva as the source, meaning, and power (bīja) of sacred sound.