Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 20

रुद्राविर्भावकारणम् — Causes and Pattern of Rudra’s Manifestation

Pratikalpa

Devanagari script

इत्युक्त्वा विश्वकर्माणं विश्वभूतेश्वरो हरः । सह रुद्रैः प्रजासर्गान्निवृत्तात्मा व्यतिष्ठत

Transliteration

ityuktvā viśvakarmāṇaṃ viśvabhūteśvaro haraḥ | saha rudraiḥ prajāsargānnivṛttātmā vyatiṣṭhata

Translation

Après avoir ainsi parlé à Viśvakarmā, Hara—Seigneur de tous les êtres de l’univers—demeura ferme avec les Rudras, l’esprit retiré de la création ultérieure de descendance.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय: quotation marker ‘thus’

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund): ‘having said’

• viśva-karmāṇam: Viśvakarman
• viśva-karmāṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक) + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय: proper name ‘Viśvakarman’; पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• viśva-bhūta-īśvaraḥ: the lord of all beings
• viśva-bhūta-īśvaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: ‘lord of all beings’; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• haraḥ: Hara (Śiva)
• haraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• saha: with
• saha: Saha (सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (preposition-like): ‘with’

• rudraiḥ: with the Rudras
• rudraiḥ: Sahakāraka (सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (सह), बहुवचन

• prajā-sargān: the creations of beings
• prajā-sargān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक) + sarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: ‘creation of beings’; पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन

• nivṛtta-ātmā: with withdrawn self
• nivṛtta-ātmā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nivṛtta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि: ‘one whose self is withdrawn/ceased’; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; agrees with haraḥ

• vyatiṣṭhata: stood/abided
• vyatiṣṭhata: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-sthā (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; ‘stood/abided’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Rudra

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Vishvakarma
• Rudras

FAQs

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

It highlights Śiva as Pati (the sovereign Lord) who can initiate cosmic functions yet remain inwardly established in nivṛtti—detached and self-abiding—showing that supreme mastery includes freedom from compulsion to create.

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

Hara acting with the Rudras reflects Saguna Lordship—divine governance of the cosmos—while the phrase nivṛttātmā points to the inner transcendence worshipped through the Liṅga, where devotees contemplate Śiva as both manifest ruler and inwardly beyond all activity.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The verse suggests cultivating nivṛtti through japa of the Pañcākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and meditative withdrawal after duties—offering actions to Śiva and resting the mind in stillness, as the Rudras stand established with the Lord.