Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 10

परस्य दुर्‍निर्णयः—षट्कुलीयमुनिविवादः तथा ब्रह्मदर्शनार्थं मेरुप्रयाणम् | The Dispute of the Six-Lineage Sages on the Supreme and Their Journey to Brahmā at Meru

Devanagari script

तप्तजांबूनदमयं प्रांशुप्राकारतोरणम् । निर्व्यूहवलभीकूटप्रतोलीशतमंडितम्

Transliteration

taptajāṃbūnadamayaṃ prāṃśuprākāratoraṇam | nirvyūhavalabhīkūṭapratolīśatamaṃḍitam

Translation

It was fashioned of heated Jāmbūnada gold, with lofty ramparts and archways; adorned with projecting galleries, towering roof-peaks, and hundreds of splendid gateways.

Word by Word

• तप्त: heated, refined
• तप्त: विशेषण (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तप्त (कृदन्त; √तप् धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्; adjectival use qualifying the compound

• जाम्बूनद: Jāmbūnada gold
• जाम्बूनद: सम्बन्ध (Genitival relation within compound/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाम्बूनद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; समासाङ्ग (compound member)

• मयम्: made of
• मयम्: विशेषण (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्; ‘-मय’ = made of

• प्रांशु: lofty
• प्रांशु: विशेषण (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रांशु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासाङ्ग; ‘tall/lofty’ as qualifier

• प्राकार: rampart, enclosing wall
• प्राकार: सम्बन्ध (within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; समासाङ्ग

• तोरणम्: gateway, arch
• तोरणम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्; head of compound

• निर्व्यूह: projections/arrangements (architectural)
• निर्व्यूह: सम्बन्ध (within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्व्यूह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासाङ्ग; architectural term

• वलभी: balcony, gallery
• वलभी: सम्बन्ध (within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वलभी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; समासाङ्ग

• कूट: peak, roof-top
• कूट: सम्बन्ध (within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (contextual); समासाङ्ग; ‘peak/roof-top’ sense

• प्रतोली: approach-street, gate-passage
• प्रतोली: सम्बन्ध (within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतोली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; समासाङ्ग; ‘street/approach/gate-passage’

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: विशेषण (Numeral qualifier/संख्याविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; समासाङ्ग; numeral ‘hundred’

• मण्डितम्: adorned
• मण्डितम्: विशेषण (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मण्डित (कृदन्त; √मण्ड्/मण्ड् धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्; ‘adorned/decorated’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Tripurāntaka

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse portrays the radiant, ordered splendor of Shiva’s sacred domain, teaching that the divine can be contemplated in a tangible (saguṇa) form to steady the mind and awaken devotion, which then matures toward liberation.

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

By describing a magnificent, well-structured divine residence with many gateways and elevated halls, the text supports saguṇa-upāsanā—approaching Shiva through visible sacred forms and spaces (like temples and the Liṅga) as a doorway to realizing Shiva as the supreme Pati.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Use this imagery for dhyāna: visualize a luminous Shiva-dhāma and then center the mind on the Liṅga while repeating the Pañcākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), treating the ‘gateways’ as stages of inward entry from outer worship to inner stillness.