Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 27

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

त्वं हि सर्वजगद्धाता सर्वकारणकारणम् । त्वया ह्यविदितं नाथ नेह किंचन विद्यते

Transliteration

tvaṃ hi sarvajagaddhātā sarvakāraṇakāraṇam | tvayā hyaviditaṃ nātha neha kiṃcana vidyate

Translation

Tu es, en vérité, le soutien de l’univers entier, la cause de toutes les causes. Ô Seigneur (Nātha), il n’existe ici rien qui Te soit inconnu.

Word by Word

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चय/हेतु-सूचक अव्यय)

• sarva-jagat-dhātā: supporter/creator of the entire world
• sarva-jagat-dhātā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + jagat (प्रातिपदिक) + dhātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: 'supporter/creator of all the world'

• sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam: the cause of all causes
• sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); apposition to 'tvam' (predicate accusative in some styles) meaning 'cause of all causes'

• tvayā: by you/to you (in relation to you)
• tvayā: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चय)

• aviditam: unknown
• aviditam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-vidita (प्रातिपदिक; √vid ज्ञा धातु, क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle with negation (अ- + क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन); used predicatively: 'unknown'

• nātha: O Lord
• nātha: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध)

• iha: here/in this world
• iha: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb of place (देशवाचक अव्यय)

• kiṃcana: anything at all
• kiṃcana: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiṃcana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Indefinite pronoun (अनिश्चित सर्वनाम), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• vidyate: exists/is found
• vidyate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (विद् धातु; अस्त्यर्थे)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (लट्/Present), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), Prathama-puruṣa (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīyasaṃhitā discourse to the sages, with this verse voiced as a devotee’s praise of Shiva)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It affirms Shiva as Pati—the supreme Lord who sustains all worlds and stands as the ultimate cause behind every secondary cause; recognizing His omniscience dissolves doubt and supports surrender (śaraṇāgati) on the path to liberation.

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

In Linga worship, the devotee approaches Shiva as the accessible Saguna Lord while remembering His transcendent status as the cause of all causes; the Linga becomes the focal symbol through which the all-knowing, all-pervading Pati is adored.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva’s omniscience with japa of the Panchākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” offering water or bilva to the Linga while contemplating: “Nothing is hidden from the Lord; may my bonds (pāśa) be removed by His grace.”