Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 21
कालतत्त्वनिर्णयः / Doctrine of Kāla (Time) and Its Subordination to Śiva
फलंत्यकाले न रसायनानि सम्यक्प्रयुक्तान्यपि चौषधानि । तान्येव कालेन समाहृतानि सिद्धिं प्रयांत्याशु सुखं दिशंति
phalaṃtyakāle na rasāyanāni samyakprayuktānyapi cauṣadhāni | tānyeva kālena samāhṛtāni siddhiṃ prayāṃtyāśu sukhaṃ diśaṃti
Even well-prepared rejuvenatives and medicines do not bear fruit when taken at the wrong time. Those very remedies, gathered and applied in the proper season, quickly attain success and bestow comfort.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Vaidyanātha
Jyotirlinga: Vaidyanātha
Sthala Purana: Vaidyanātha is Śiva as the divine physician: right ‘kāla’ (proper time/season) makes the remedy efficacious—an image for karma ripening and grace making sādhanā fruitful.
Significance: Sought for healing and relief from afflictions; also for ‘right timing’ in life and sādhanā—when grace aligns, the same practice yields swift siddhi.
Shakti Form: Annapūrṇā
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It teaches the Shaiva principle that results depend not only on the method but on kāla (right timing) and readiness—just as medicine works when taken properly, mantra, vrata, and yoga bear fruit when practiced with proper discipline and appropriate conditions.
Linga-worship is effective when performed according to Shaiva injunctions—cleanliness, faith (bhakti), correct procedure (vidhi), and auspicious timing. The verse underscores that even correct offerings gain fuller efficacy when aligned with proper time and observance.
A practical takeaway is to perform Shiva-japa (especially the Panchakshara), abhisheka, and vrata at prescribed times (e.g., pradosha, Mahashivratri), with steady routine and purity—so the ‘same practice’ yields swift spiritual benefit.