Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 18

कालतत्त्वनिर्णयः / Doctrine of Kāla (Time) and Its Subordination to Śiva

Devanagari script

यो युवा स भवेद्वृद्धो यो बलीयान्स दुर्बलः । यः श्रीमान्सो ऽपि निःश्रीकः कालश्चित्रगतिर्द्विजा

Transliteration

yo yuvā sa bhavedvṛddho yo balīyānsa durbalaḥ | yaḥ śrīmānso 'pi niḥśrīkaḥ kālaścitragatirdvijā

Translation

Celui qui est jeune devient vieux ; celui qui est fort devient faible ; et même le prospère se voit privé d’éclat. Ô deux-fois-nés, le Temps suit une marche étrange et imprévisible.

Word by Word

• यः: who/which
• यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• युवा: a youth
• युवा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युवन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• भवेत्: may become/becomes
• भवेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• वृद्धः: an old man
• वृद्धः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-नाम (predicate nominative)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• बलीयान्: stronger
• बलीयान्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बलिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तुलनात्मक (Comparative) प्रत्यय -यस् (बलिन् → बलीयस्)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• दुर्बलः: weak
• दुर्बलः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्बल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-नाम

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• श्रीमान्: prosperous
• श्रीमान्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रीमत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (even/also)

• निःश्रीकः: devoid of fortune
• निःश्रीकः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निःश्रीक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-नाम

• कालः: Time
• कालः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• चित्र-गतिः: of wondrous course
• चित्र-गतिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्र (प्रातिपदिक) + गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (चित्रा गतिः)

• द्विजाः: O twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजाः: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative/सम्बोधन), बहुवचन

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Mahākāla

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Mahākāla is the Lord before whom youth, strength, and fortune inevitably decay; the jyotirliṅga signifies Śiva as the master of time who alone grants the imperishable state.

Significance: Pilgrims seek steadiness (dhairya) and detachment (vairāgya), and pray for auspicious timing and the mitigation of decline through Śiva’s anugraha.

FAQs

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

The verse teaches impermanence: youth, strength, and wealth inevitably change under kāla. In a Shaiva Siddhanta lens, this supports vairagya and turning from transient states (pāśa-bound conditions) toward refuge in Pati (Shiva), the stable ground of liberation.

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

By highlighting the unreliability of worldly supports, the text implicitly directs the seeker to a dependable object of devotion—Shiva worship through the Linga (Saguna focus) as a means to steady the mind and orient life toward the timeless reality Shiva signifies.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is daily japa of the Panchakshara—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—with simple Linga-dhyāna, cultivating detachment from pride in youth, power, or fortune and anchoring awareness in Shiva.