Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 1
न्यासत्रैविध्य-भूतशुद्धि-प्रक्रिया
Threefold Nyāsa and the Procedure of Elemental Purification
उपमन्युरुवाच । न्यासस्तु त्रिविधः प्रोक्तः स्थित्युत्पत्तिलयक्रमात् । स्थितिर्न्यासो गृहस्थानामुत्पत्तिर्ब्रह्मचारिणाम् । यतीनां संहृतिन्यासो वनस्थानां तथैव च । स एव भर्तृहीनायाः कुटुंबिन्याः स्थितिर्भवेत्
upamanyuruvāca | nyāsastu trividhaḥ proktaḥ sthityutpattilayakramāt | sthitirnyāso gṛhasthānāmutpattirbrahmacāriṇām | yatīnāṃ saṃhṛtinyāso vanasthānāṃ tathaiva ca | sa eva bhartṛhīnāyāḥ kuṭuṃbinyāḥ sthitirbhavet
Upamanyu said: “Nyāsa (the sacred placement in worship) is taught as threefold, in the sequence of preservation (sthiti), origination (utpatti), and dissolution/withdrawal (saṃhṛti). For householders, nyāsa is of the nature of sustaining. For brahmacārins, it is of the nature of origination. For renunciants (yatīs), nyāsa is of the nature of withdrawal, and so too for forest-dwellers (vānaprasthas). That same sustaining-nyāsa is also appropriate for a householder woman who is without a husband.”
Sage Upamanyu
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Īśāna
Role: teaching
FAQs
It teaches that nyāsa is not a one-size ritual; it is adapted to one’s āśrama (life-stage). The same Shaiva goal—inner alignment to Pati (Shiva) and loosening of pāśa (bondage)—is pursued through sustaining, manifesting, or withdrawing modes of practice.
Nyāsa prepares the worshipper’s body-mind as a fit vessel for Saguna Shiva worship (including Linga-pūjā) by installing mantra and divine awareness in the limbs and heart. The mode (sthiti/utpatti/saṁhṛti) reflects whether one is sustaining dharma in the world or moving toward withdrawal and dissolution into Shiva-consciousness.
Practice mantra-nyāsa according to your station: householders emphasize sthiti-nyāsa (steady daily japa and pūjā), brahmacārins emphasize utpatti-nyāsa (disciplined mantra-formation and purity), and renunciants/forest-dwellers emphasize saṁhṛti-nyāsa (withdrawal, inner dissolution, and meditation on Shiva).