Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 11

पञ्चाक्षरमाहात्म्यम् / The Greatness of the Pañcākṣarī (Five-Syllable) Mantra

Devanagari script

अलब्धाल्लब्ध एवात्र विशिष्टो नात्र संशयः । स ब्रह्मांगेन वा तेन सहंसेन विमुच्यते

Transliteration

alabdhāllabdha evātra viśiṣṭo nātra saṃśayaḥ | sa brahmāṃgena vā tena sahaṃsena vimucyate

Translation

Here, the one who gains what was formerly unattained is indeed the superior seeker—of this there is no doubt. By that attainment he is liberated, either through union with Brahmā’s own being or together with the Haṁsa, the supreme inward Self.

Word by Word

• alabdhāt: from the unattained (state)
• alabdhāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-labdha (कृदन्त; √labh धातु)
• Form: Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन), Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुं); past passive participle used substantively (भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः)

• labdhaḥ: the attained (one/thing)
• labdhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: labdha (कृदन्त; √labh धातु)
• Form: Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग); past passive participle used substantively

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध/निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphasis

• atra: here/in this matter
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण), deictic

• viśiṣṭaḥ: superior/distinguished
• viśiṣṭaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viśiṣṭa (कृदन्त; √śiṣ/√śās?—standard: vi-√śiṣ ‘to be distinguished’)
• Form: Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग); past participial adjective

• na: not
• na: Sambandha/Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध-निपात)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• saḥ: he/that (one)
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); pronoun

• brahma-aṅgena: by (means of) Brahmā’s limb/body-part
• brahma-aṅgena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘of Brahmā/Brahman’ + ‘limb’

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: Disjunctive particle (विकल्प-निपात)

• tena: by that/with that
• tena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुं), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); pronoun

• sahaṃsena: by/with the (divine) haṃsa (swan)
• sahaṃsena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahaṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• vimucyate: is released/freed
• vimucyate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√muc (मुच् धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Passive voice (कर्मणि प्रयोग), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: Interprets ‘attainment’ as the decisive inner shift from non-attainment to attainment of the liberating principle; liberation is described in Upaniṣadic idiom (brahma-aṅga/haṃsa), aligning devotion with realized knowledge.

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Hamsa

FAQs

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

It praises the seeker who realizes the previously unrealized Supreme Reality and declares that such attainment culminates in release (vimukti), aligning with Shaiva Siddhanta’s aim of freedom from pasha (bondage) through higher realization.

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

In Shaiva practice, Saguna worship (Linga, mantra, and devotion) purifies and matures the aspirant so that the ‘unattained’ truth becomes directly realized; this verse points to that final fruition—liberation through true knowledge and inner union.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditation on Haṁsa (so’ham/haṁsa-japa with the breath) as an inner discipline is implied by “haṁsena,” supported by Shaiva disciplines such as Panchakshara japa, Tripundra (bhasma), and Rudraksha for steadiness and purification.