Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 11
षडध्ववेदनम् (Ṣaḍadhva-vedanam) — The Sixfold Path: Sound, Meaning, and Tattva-Distribution
कलाश्च ता निवृत्त्याद्याः पर्याप्ता इति निश्चयः । मंत्राध्वा च पदाध्वा च वर्णाध्वा चेति शब्दतः
kalāśca tā nivṛttyādyāḥ paryāptā iti niścayaḥ | maṃtrādhvā ca padādhvā ca varṇādhvā ceti śabdataḥ
Ces kalās, à commencer par Nivṛtti, sont véritablement suffisantes : telle est la conclusion arrêtée. Du point de vue du son sacré, on les nomme « voie des mantras », « voie des mots (termes) » et « voie des phonèmes (lettres) ».
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Type: stotra
Role: teaching
FAQs
It states that liberation-oriented spiritual practice can be understood through Shiva’s kalās (powers) and, more specifically, through the graded ‘paths’ of sacred sound—letters, words, and mantras—by which consciousness is refined toward nivṛtti (withdrawal from bondage) and fulfillment in Shiva.
Linga-worship in Shaiva tradition is inseparable from mantra and śabda: the devotee approaches Saguna Shiva through audible forms (varṇa → pada → mantra), which culminate in inner absorption where the Linga signifies Shiva as the transcendent Pati beyond all sound.
Japa and mantra-sādhana: begin with careful pronunciation of letters (varṇa), understand the sacred terms (pada), and steadily practice mantra-japa—classically the Panchākṣarī ‘Om Namaḥ Śivāya’—as a disciplined path toward inner nivṛtti.