Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 18

उपमन्युतपः-निवारणप्रसङ्गः / Śiva restrains Upamanyu’s tapas (Śiva disguised as Indra)

Devanagari script

मद्भक्तो भव विप्रर्षे मामेवार्चय सर्वदा । ददामि सर्वं भद्रं ते त्यज रुद्रं च निर्गुणम्

Transliteration

madbhakto bhava viprarṣe māmevārcaya sarvadā | dadāmi sarvaṃ bhadraṃ te tyaja rudraṃ ca nirguṇam

Translation

“O best of brāhmaṇa seers, become My devotee and worship Me alone at all times. I shall grant you every auspicious good. Abandon the nirguṇa conception of Rudra as an impersonal absolute.”

Word by Word

• mat-bhaktaḥ: my devotee
• mat-bhaktaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (asmad-षष्ठी) + bhakta (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from √bhaj, क्त)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘mama bhaktaḥ’

• bhava: be
• bhava: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd Person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• vipra-ṛṣe: O brahmin-sage
• vipra-ṛṣe: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन); कर्मधारय: ‘vipraś ca asau ṛṣiś ca’ (O brahmin-sage)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निपात)

• arcaya: worship
• arcaya: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √arc (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd Person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• sarvadā: always
• sarvadā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvadā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb of time (कालवाचक-अव्यय)

• dadāmi: I give
• dadāmi: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 1st Person (उत्तमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• sarvam: everything
• sarvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhadram: good/auspicious (thing)
• bhadram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhadra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन)

• tyaja: abandon
• tyaja: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tyaj (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd Person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• rudram: Rudra (Śiva)
• rudram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय-अव्यय)

• nirguṇam: attribute-less
• nirguṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nirguṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); used as adjective of ‘rudram’

Speaker

Lord Shiva (Rudra) instructing a brahmarshi within the Vāyavīya philosophical dialogue

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Rudra

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Rudra

FAQs

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

The verse emphasizes that Shiva’s grace (anugraha) is accessed through steady bhakti and worship directed to the personal Lord (Pati). From a Shaiva Siddhanta lens, liberation is not achieved by an abstract idea alone, but by devotion and the Lord’s bestowal of auspiciousness that culminates in release from pāśa (bondage).

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

“Worship Me alone always” aligns with saguna-upāsanā—approaching Shiva through worshipful forms such as the Śiva-liṅga, mantra, and pūjā. The instruction to abandon a merely nirguṇa conception indicates that the Purana prioritizes lived devotion to Shiva as Lord and giver of grace, rather than treating Rudra only as an impersonal, attribute-less principle.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The direct takeaway is nitya-arcana (daily worship): regular Śiva-pūjā of the liṅga with mantra-japa (especially the Panchākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and a disciplined devotional routine. The verse’s stress is constancy—“sarvadā”—making worship and remembrance uninterrupted.