Shloka 10

प्रणवमहिमा — The Greatness of the Praṇava (Om) as Śiva

Devanagari script

एनमेव हि देवेशि सर्वमंत्रशिरोमणिम् । काश्यामहं प्रदास्यामि जीवानां मुक्तिहेतवे

Transliteration

enameva hi deveśi sarvamaṃtraśiromaṇim | kāśyāmahaṃ pradāsyāmi jīvānāṃ muktihetave

Translation

O Goddess, this indeed is the crest-jewel of all mantras. In Kāśī I shall bestow it for the sake of the liberation of living beings.

Word by Word

• enam: this (one)
• enam: Karma/Object (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), emphatic particle (निपात)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (निपात): 'indeed/for'

• deveśi: O goddess, lady of the gods
• deveśi: Sambodhana/Vocative (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deveśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• sarva-mantra-śiromaṇim: the crest-jewel of all mantras
• sarva-mantra-śiromaṇim: Karma/Object (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + mantra (प्रातिपदिक) + śiras (प्रातिपदिक) + maṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound (multi-member); Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); apposition to 'enam'

• kāśyām: in Kāśī
• kāśyām: Adhikaraṇa/Location (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta/Subject (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• pradāsyāmi: I shall bestow
• pradāsyāmi: Kriyā/Predicate (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-dā (धातु)
• Form: Luṭ (लुट्, periphrastic future), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 1st person (उत्तमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• jīvānām: of living beings
• jīvānām: Sambandha/Possessor (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• mukti-hetave: for the cause of liberation
• mukti-hetave: Sampradāna/Purpose (सम्प्रदान/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक) + hetu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Lord Shiva

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha

Sthala Purana: Śiva declares Kāśī as His own kṣetra where the liberating upadeśa (tāraka) is bestowed at the final moment; praṇava is praised as the crest-jewel of mantras given for jīva-mukti.

Significance: Darśana and remembrance of Viśveśvara in Kāśī is famed for granting mokṣa; the kṣetra is treated as a direct field of Śiva’s anugraha.

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: oṃ

Type: gayatri

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Parvati
• Kashi

FAQs

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

Shiva declares a supreme, liberating mantra as the highest among all mantras and links its bestowal to Kāśī, presenting grace (anugraha) as the decisive cause for the jīva’s moksha—central to Shaiva Siddhanta’s Pati (Lord) granting release from pāśa (bondage).

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

By calling the mantra the “crest-jewel,” Shiva indicates that Saguna worship—such as Linga devotion supported by mantra-japa—becomes a direct means for receiving Shiva’s liberating grace, especially in the sacred field of Kāśī associated with Shiva’s presence.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Mantra-upāsanā is implied: receive the mantra through proper instruction, practice steady japa with devotion, and in Kāśī especially, contemplate Shiva as the liberator—integrating mantra-japa with Shaiva bhakti and inner recollection aimed at mukti.