Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 50

पशु-पाश-पतिविचारः / Inquiry into Paśu, Pāśa, and Pati

Devanagari script

येनेदमावृतं नित्यं कालकालात्मना यतः । तेनेरितमिदं कर्म भूतैः सह विवर्तते

Transliteration

yenedamāvṛtaṃ nityaṃ kālakālātmanā yataḥ | teneritamidaṃ karma bhūtaiḥ saha vivartate

Translation

Ce par quoi l’univers tout entier est à jamais enveloppé—car Il existe comme le Temps et comme le Soi même du Temps—par ce Principe suprême cette action est mise en mouvement; et, avec les êtres, elle tourne et se déploie au fil des cycles du devenir.

Word by Word

• येन: by which
• येन: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्गे (neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/करण), एकवचन (singular)

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्गे (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• आवृतम्: covered, enveloped
• आवृतम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ√वृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गे (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे (passive sense)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb)

• कालकालात्मना: by the self of time (time as the inner principle)
• कालकालात्मना: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative) समास: कालस्य कालः (time of time) इति + आत्मन्; पुंलिङ्गे (masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (instrumental), एकवचन

• यतः: because, from which cause
• यतः: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतस् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), हेतु/कारणार्थक (causal/ablatival sense): 'because/whence'

• तेन: by that
• तेन: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्गे (neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ईरितम्: impelled, set in motion
• ईरितम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ईर्/ईरय् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; 'प्रेरित/उत्प्रेरित'

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कर्म: action, activity
• कर्म: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे (neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (nominative), एकवचन

• भूतैः: with beings, by beings
• भूतैः: Sahakārī/Karaṇa (सहकारी/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे (neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति (instrumental), बहुवचन (plural)

• सह: together with
• सह: Saha (सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), सहार्थक उपसर्ग/निपात (comitative particle)

• विवर्तते: transforms, evolves
• विवर्तते: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि√वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), आत्मनेपद (ātmanepada), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; भावे/कर्तरि: 'it turns/comes to be'

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the Lord who transcends and governs Time; the jyotirliṅga is revered as the timeless light that subdues kāla and grants fearlessness from death and cyclical becoming.

Significance: Worship is sought for release from fear of death, pacification of karmic cycles, and insight into the Lord as kālātīta (beyond time).

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: cyclic manifestation (saṃsāra-cakra) under kāla

FAQs

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

It teaches that the cosmos and its karmic motion are governed by a higher reality identified with Kāla (Time). From a Shaiva Siddhanta lens, this points to Pati (Shiva) as the ultimate regulator of the cycles that bind the pashu (soul) through pasha (bondage), urging the seeker to look beyond time-bound karma toward liberation.

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

Though the verse is philosophical, it supports Saguna worship by giving the devotee a focus: Shiva as Kāla’s inner essence and the Lord who sets karmic processes in motion. Linga worship trains the mind to recognize the timeless Pati behind the time-driven world, gradually leading from form (saguna) to the realization of the formless (nirguna) truth.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is Kāla-bheda dhyāna: meditate on Shiva as the witness beyond time while repeating the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya). If following Purana-based practice, support it with Tripuṇḍra (bhasma) and rudrāksha as reminders of impermanence and Shiva’s lordship over karma.