Shloka 39

शिवध्यानपूजनवर्णनम्

Description of Śiva Meditation and Worship

Devanagari script

उच्चार्य पूजयेद्विद्वान्सर्वत्रैवं विधिक्रमः । अङ्गवक्त्रकलाभेदात्पंचब्रह्माणि पूर्ववत्

Transliteration

uccārya pūjayedvidvānsarvatraivaṃ vidhikramaḥ | aṅgavaktrakalābhedātpaṃcabrahmāṇi pūrvavat

Translation

Having recited the prescribed mantras, the learned worshipper should perform the worship. In all cases this is the ordained sequence of the rite. And, according to the distinctions of limbs, faces, and divine energies (kalās), the Five Brahmas are to be applied and worshipped just as previously stated.

Word by Word

• uccārya: having uttered/recited
• uccārya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√car (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), from ud-√car ‘to utter’; indeclinable verbal form; sense: having uttered

• pūjayet: should worship
• pūjayet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pūj (धातु)
• Form: Optative (विधिलिङ्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• vidvān: the learned man
• vidvān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidvas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); present active participle used as noun ‘knower’

• sarvatra: everywhere
• sarvatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• evam: thus
• evam: Prakāra (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle/Adverb (निपात/क्रियाविशेषण)

• vidhi-kramaḥ: the prescribed order (of procedure)
• vidhi-kramaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक) + krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘procedure’s sequence/order’

• aṅga-vaktra-kalā-bhedāt: from the differentiation of limbs, faces, and energies
• aṅga-vaktra-kalā-bhedāt: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + vaktra (प्रातिपदिक) + kalā (प्रातिपदिक) + bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘from the distinction/difference (bheda) of limbs, faces, and kalās’

• pañca-brahmāṇi: the five Brahmas (five aspects)
• pañca-brahmāṇi: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañca (संख्या/अव्ययवत्) + brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा) or Accusative (द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन); द्विगु-समास: ‘five Brahmas’

• pūrvavat: as before
• pūrvavat: Prakāra (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrvavat (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) meaning ‘as before/according to the earlier manner’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: (pañcabrahma-mantrāḥ implied: sadyojāta, vāmadeva, aghora, tatpuruṣa, īśāna)

Type: rudram

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Panchabrahma

FAQs

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

It teaches that Shiva-worship is not random but follows a sanctified sequence: first mantra-recitation, then worship, aligning the devotee’s body-mind with Shiva’s fivefold revelation (Pañcabrahma), which in Shaiva Siddhanta supports purification and steady contemplation of Pati (Shiva).

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

The Linga is worshipped as Saguna Shiva through structured mantra and upacāra; the Pañcabrahma correspond to Shiva’s five faces/aspects invoked in Linga-pūjā, making the ritual a mapped approach to experiencing Shiva’s accessible, worshipful form.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Recite the appropriate mantras first, then perform pūjā in the prescribed order, meditating on Shiva’s five aspects (Sadyojāta, Vāmadeva, Aghora, Tatpuruṣa, Īśāna) as linked to limbs/faces/kalās—often integrated with japa of the Pañcākṣarī and focused visualization during Linga worship.