Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 7

मन्वन्तर-कल्प-प्रश्नोत्तरम् / Discourse on Manvantaras, Kalpas, and Re-creation

Devanagari script

यस्त्वयं वर्तते कल्पो वाराहो नाम नामतः । अस्मिन्नपि द्विजश्रेष्ठा मनवस्तु चतुर्दश

Transliteration

yastvayaṃ vartate kalpo vārāho nāma nāmataḥ | asminnapi dvijaśreṣṭhā manavastu caturdaśa

Translation

Ce même éon (kalpa) qui se déroule à présent est nommé, de nom, le Vārāha Kalpa. Et en lui aussi, ô le meilleur des deux-fois-nés, il y a en vérité quatorze Manus.

Word by Word

• यः: which/that (he/it)
• यः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (this)

• वर्तते: exists/continues/is current
• वर्तते: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• कल्पः: aeon/cosmic cycle (kalpa)
• कल्पः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• वाराहः: Varāha-related; named Varāha
• वाराहः: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वाराह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• नाम: by name/namely
• नाम: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Naming marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नाम-शब्दः (indeclinable used as ‘called/namely’)

• नामतः: in name/by name
• नामतः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नामतः (अव्यय; नामन् + तस्)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb): ‘as to name/by name’

• अस्मिन्: in this (kalpa)
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle): ‘also/even’

• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: O best of the twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Vocative-address function)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (among द्विजs, the श्रेष्ठs) संबोधनार्थे प्रयोगः (used in address)

• मनवः: Manus
• मनवः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• तु: indeed/and
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विशेषार्थक (emphatic/contrast)

• चतुर्दश: fourteen
• चतुर्दश: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्दश (संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याविशेषणम्; प्रथमा बहुवचनार्थे (numeral adjective qualifying मनवः)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Vārāha Kalpa (current aeon) and its 14 manvantaras

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Manu

FAQs

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

It situates the listener within the sacred framework of cosmic time—Kalpa and Manvantara—so that Shiva’s teachings are understood as timeless guidance for liberation (moksha) across recurring cycles of creation and dissolution.

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

By describing the ordered flow of cosmic administration (fourteen Manus), the text implies an intelligent, sustaining principle behind the universe; in Shaiva understanding, that supreme Lord is Pati (Shiva), who is worshiped in accessible Saguna form—especially as the Shiva-Linga—while remaining transcendent.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The practical takeaway is contemplative: meditate on impermanence and vast cosmic time to intensify vairagya, and steady the mind with Shiva-japa—especially the Panchakshara mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—as the constant refuge amid changing yugas and manvantaras.