Shloka 82

Paramātma-Svarūpa-Nirṇaya: Strī–Puṃ–Napuṃsaka-Vicāra

Inquiry into the Supreme Self and Gendered Forms

Devanagari script

कालो हि भावभावानां भासानां भासनात्मकः । क्रमावच्छेदको भूत्वा भूतादिरिति कथ्यते

Transliteration

kālo hi bhāvabhāvānāṃ bhāsānāṃ bhāsanātmakaḥ | kramāvacchedako bhūtvā bhūtādiriti kathyate

Translation

Time indeed is the very principle by which all states and their transformations, and all appearances and their manifestation, are made known. Becoming the limiter that marks out sequence and division, it is therefore spoken of as the origin of beings, the beginning of manifested existence.

Word by Word

• कालः: Time
• कालः: कर्ता (Karta/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (nom. sg.)

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: सम्बन्धसूचक (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• भावभावानाम्: of beings and (their) states/manifestations
• भावभावानाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाव-भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन (gen. pl.); द्वन्द्वः—‘भाव’ (existents) ‘अभाव’ इत्यर्थे पाठभेदे; अत्र ‘भाव-भाव’ इति युग्मनिर्देशः

• भासानाम्: of appearances/shinings
• भासानाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (पाठानुसार), षष्ठी, बहुवचन (gen. pl.)

• भासनात्मकः: having the nature of illumination/manifestation
• भासनात्मकः: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भासन-आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (nom. sg.)

• क्रमावच्छेदकः: that which delimits by sequence
• क्रमावच्छेदकः: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रम-अवच्छेदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: पूर्वकाल-क्रिया (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘having become’

• भूतादिः: the origin of beings/elements
• भूतादिः: विधेय (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत-आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘भूतानाम् आदिः’ (beginning of beings/elements)

• इति: thus
• इति: वाक्य-सम्बन्ध (Quotative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणसूचक-अव्यय (quotative)

• कथ्यते: is called/said
• कथ्यते: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कथ् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive/कर्मणि), आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the Lord of Time who subdues death and governs the sequencing of manifestation; the Jyotirliṅga is revered as the self-revealed axis where time is transcended through Śiva’s grace.

Significance: Worship is sought for mastery over fear of death/time, purification of karmic momentum, and steadiness of mind amid change.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that Time (kāla) is the ordering power that makes change and appearance intelligible, yet also binds experience into sequence; liberation in Shaiva Siddhanta is realized by turning to Shiva, who is beyond such limiting measures.

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

Linga worship points the mind from changing, time-bound forms to Shiva as the timeless ground of manifestation; Saguna Shiva is adored as the Lord who governs time, while the Linga signifies the Reality that transcends time’s divisions.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as Mahākāla—the Lord of Time—while repeating the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), contemplating the rise and fall of thoughts as time-sequenced appearances and resting awareness in the timeless Śiva.