Shloka 28

Devanagari script

नियतिः कालरागश्च विद्या च तदनन्तरम् । कला च पंचकमिदं मयोत्पन्नम्मुनीश्वर

Transliteration

niyatiḥ kālarāgaśca vidyā ca tadanantaram | kalā ca paṃcakamidaṃ mayotpannammunīśvara

Translation

“Niyati (cosmic order), Kāla (time), Rāga (attachment/desire), and then Vidyā (limited knowledge)—and also Kalā (limited agency): this set of five has arisen from me, O lord of sages.”

Word by Word

• niyatiḥ: Niyati (cosmic order/necessity)
• niyatiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niyati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• kāla-rāgaḥ: Time and attachment
• kāla-rāgaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + rāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; samāsa: dvandva—kālaś ca rāgaś ca (Time and Attachment) treated as a pair

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-avyaya (conjunction)

• vidyā: knowledge
• vidyā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-avyaya (conjunction)

• tad-anantaram: immediately thereafter
• tad-anantaram: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + anantara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva—tad-anantaram (immediately after that); adverbial accusative compound

• kalā: Kalā (a power/part)
• kalā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-avyaya (conjunction)

• paṃcakam: a set of five
• paṃcakam: Pradhāna (प्रधान/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃcaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā/Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; here predicate nominative with idaṃ

• idam: this
• idam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā, Ekavacana; demonstrative pronoun

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Kartṛkaraṇa/Agent (कर्ता-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: (Pronoun) Tṛtīyā, Ekavacana; instrumental of agent

• utpannam: produced, arisen
• utpannam: Pradhāna (प्रधान/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pad (धातु) + ut- (उपसर्ग) → utpanna (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā, Ekavacana; kta-participle ‘arisen/produced’, agrees with idaṃ/paṃcakam

• munīśvara: O lord of sages
• munīśvara: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana (8th/सम्बोधन), Ekavacana; samāsa: tatpuruṣa—munīnām īśvaraḥ (lord of sages)

Speaker

Lord Shiva

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not a sthala/jyotirliṅga passage; this is a doctrinal teaching on the five kañcukas (limitations) that arise in the domain of Māyā.

Significance: Darśana of the kañcukas is framed as prerequisite for transcending Māyā and receiving Śiva’s anugraha (liberation-oriented insight).

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Cosmic governance through Māyā: emergence of the five kañcukas (niyati, kāla, rāga, vidyā, kalā) that contract the soul’s infinitude.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse points to the five limiting principles—niyati, kāla, rāga, vidyā, and kalā—through which the bound soul experiences restriction. From a Shaiva Siddhanta lens, liberation comes by turning to Pati (Shiva), who transcends these bonds and grants grace that dissolves limitation.

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

Worship of the Linga and Saguna Shiva trains the mind to move from limitation (time, attachment, partial knowledge) toward Shiva’s all-pervading reality. The Linga symbolizes the transcendent Pati who is not confined by these five, while devotion and ritual purify the pashu (individual) from pasha (bondage).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is japa of the Panchakshara—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—with contemplation that Shiva is beyond kāla (time) and niyati (compulsion). This supports vairāgya (dispassion) from rāga and steadies the mind toward Shiva’s liberating grace.