Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 1

पञ्चाक्षरीविद्यायाḥ कलियुगे मोक्षोपायः | The Pañcākṣarī Vidyā as a Means of Liberation in Kali Yuga

Devanagari script

देव्युवाच । कलौ कलुषिते काले दुर्जये दुरतिक्रमे । अपुण्यतमसाच्छन्ने लोके धर्मपराङ्मुखे

Transliteration

devyuvāca | kalau kaluṣite kāle durjaye duratikrame | apuṇyatamasācchanne loke dharmaparāṅmukhe

Translation

La Diosa dijo: «En la era de Kali—cuando el tiempo está mancillado, difícil de vencer y arduo de trascender—cuando el mundo queda velado por la oscuridad nacida del demérito y la gente se aparta del dharma…»

Word by Word

• devī: the Goddess
• devī: Karta (कर्ता/speaker)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (क्रिया/main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada

• kalau: in Kali (age)
• kalau: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/locative setting)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• kaluṣite: defiled
• kaluṣite: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kaluṣita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; agrees with kāle

• kāle: in the time
• kāle: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• durjaye: hard to conquer
• durjaye: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durjaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; agrees with kāle

• duratikrame: hard to overcome
• duratikrame: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duratikrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; agrees with kāle

• apuṇya-tamasā: by sinful darkness
• apuṇya-tamasā: Karana (करण/means; with which covered)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-puṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; tatpuruṣa: 'darkness of sin/impiety'

• ācchanne: covered
• ācchanne: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/participial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-chad (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kridanta, past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; agrees with loke: 'covered'

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/place)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• dharma-parāṅmukhe: turned away from righteousness
• dharma-parāṅmukhe: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + parāṅmukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; tatpuruṣa: 'turned away from dharma'; agrees with loke

Speaker

Parvati (Devi)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not a jyotirliṅga episode; it introduces the Kali-yuga condition as a universal setting for Śiva’s salvific instruction.

Significance: Motivates reliance on accessible Śaiva means (mantra/bhakti) when dharma is obscured; hearing this diagnosis is preparatory (adhikāra-bodha) for practice.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: teaching

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Kali-yuga (age of decline)

Characters & Entities

• Parvati

FAQs

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

It frames Kali Yuga as a period of intensified pasha (bondage) through impurity and ignorance, preparing the listener for Shaiva remedies—turning back to dharma and refuge in Pati (Shiva) for liberation.

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

When the world becomes dharma-parāṅmukha, the Purana typically directs devotees to accessible Saguna upasana—Linga worship, mantra, and vrata—as steady supports for restoring purity and devotion amid Kali’s turbulence.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Though not stated explicitly in this line, the implied Shaiva takeaway for Kali Yuga is steady japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and regular Linga-puja with bhasma and rudraksha as aids to inner purity and discipline.