Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 21

परस्य दुर्‍निर्णयः—षट्कुलीयमुनिविवादः तथा ब्रह्मदर्शनार्थं मेरुप्रयाणम् | The Dispute of the Six-Lineage Sages on the Supreme and Their Journey to Brahmā at Meru

Devanagari script

नमोस्तु सर्वलोकाय सर्वलोकविधायिने । सर्वात्मदेहसंयोग वियोगविधिहेतवे

Transliteration

namostu sarvalokāya sarvalokavidhāyine | sarvātmadehasaṃyoga viyogavidhihetave

Translation

Hommage à Toi qui es tous les mondes, et à Toi qui établis l’ordre de tous les mondes; à Toi, cause même de la loi qui opère l’union et la séparation des corps de tous les êtres avec le Soi intérieur (Ātman).

Word by Word

• namaḥ: salutation; homage
• namaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), namaskāra-nipāta (नमस्कार-निपात), used with dative (चतुर्थी)

• astu: let it be
• astu: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्, imperative/benedictive sense), Prathama-puruṣa (प्रथमपुरुष), Ekavacana (एकवचन)

• sarva-lokāya: to the lord of all worlds / to all-worlds
• sarva-lokāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान/चतुर्थी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Caturthī (चतुर्थी), Ekavacana (एकवचन); karmadhāraya: sarve lokāḥ (all worlds) / sarva-lokaḥ (all-worlds)

• sarva-loka-vidhāyine: to the arranger/creator of all worlds
• sarva-loka-vidhāyine: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान/चतुर्थी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + vidhāyin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Caturthī (चतुर्थी), Ekavacana (एकवचन); vidhāyin = 'arranger/creator'; tatpuruṣa: sarva-lokān vidadhāti iti

• sarva-ātma-deha-saṃyoga-viyoga-vidhi-hetave: to the cause of the ordinance of union and separation of all selves and bodies
• sarva-ātma-deha-saṃyoga-viyoga-vidhi-hetave: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान/चतुर्थी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + deha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyoga (प्रातिपदिक) + viyoga (प्रातिपदिक) + vidhi (प्रातिपदिक) + hetu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Caturthī (चतुर्थी), Ekavacana (एकवचन); multi-member tatpuruṣa: (sarvātmadehānāṃ) saṃyoga-viyogayoḥ vidhiḥ tasya hetuḥ

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya discourse to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Īśāna

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: नमोस्तु सर्वलोकाय सर्वलोकविधायिने । सर्वात्मदेहसंयोग वियोगविधिहेतवे

Type: stotra

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It praises Shiva as both immanent (present as all worlds) and transcendent (the ordainer of cosmic law), affirming that the soul’s embodied experience—meeting and parting, birth and death—unfolds under His governing order, ultimately guiding the bound soul toward liberation.

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

The Linga symbolizes Shiva as the ground of all existence and the ruler of cosmic order; worshipping Saguna Shiva through the Linga trains the devotee to see the same Lord as the inner Self of all, beyond bodily union and separation.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Contemplate Shiva as the indwelling Self (sarvātmā) while repeating the Panchākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—and offer bhakti through simple Linga-pūjā (water, bilva leaves), remembering that bodily changes are governed by His vidhi.