Shloka 48

Śiva-Śakti Tattva, Varṇa-Rahasya, and Mahāvākya-Bhāvanā

Interpretive Discipline

Devanagari script

व्याख्यातत्वञ्च कर्म्मादिगुर्वासनपरिग्रहम् । अनुगृह्य गुरुस्तस्मै शिष्याय शिवरूपिणे

Transliteration

vyākhyātatvañca karmmādigurvāsanaparigraham | anugṛhya gurustasmai śiṣyāya śivarūpiṇe

Translation

Having compassionately instructed him in the true purport, and having conferred the guru’s own discipline—beginning with the prescribed rites and observances—the Guru, out of grace, bestowed it upon that disciple, who was of the very form of Śiva.

Word by Word

• vyākhyātatvam: the state of being explained/expounded
• vyākhyātatvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vy-ā-khyā (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय) → vyākhyāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + tva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भाववाचक (state of being explained)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• karma-ādi-guru-āsana-parigraham: acceptance of the teacher’s seat etc. (ritual preliminaries)
• karma-ādi-guru-āsana-parigraham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karma (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + guru (प्रातिपदिक) + āsana (प्रातिपदिक) + parigraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः): कर्मादि-गुरोः आसनस्य परिग्रहः (acceptance of the teacher’s seat etc.)

• anugṛhya: having blessed/favored
• anugṛhya: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu-grah (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त, absolutive)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having favored/blessed)

• guruḥ: the guru/teacher
• guruḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tasmai: to him
• tasmai: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (सम्प्रदान), एकवचन

• śiṣyāya: to the disciple
• śiṣyāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; तस्मै इत्यस्य विशेषण/अप्पोजिशन

• śiva-rūpiṇe: to (the disciple) who is of Śiva’s form
• śiva-rūpiṇe: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (शिष्याय); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (शिवस्य रूपी)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Kailasha Samhita discourse to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that liberation-oriented knowledge is not merely intellectual: the Guru, moved by grace, transmits both right understanding and the lived discipline of practice, by which the disciple becomes “Śiva-formed” (aligned with Śiva-consciousness).

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

The verse emphasizes guru-guided sādhana and observance; in Shaiva practice this commonly includes Saguna worship such as Liṅga-pūjā, through which the disciple’s mind is purified and made fit to realize Śiva as the indwelling Pati.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It points to disciplined observances (karma-ādi) received from the Guru—such as regular Shiva worship, mantra-japa (notably the Pañcākṣarī), and vow-based purity—undertaken as a grace-supported path toward Śiva-realization.