Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 14

पञ्चाक्षर-षडक्षरमन्त्र-माहात्म्यम् | The Greatness of the Pañcākṣara/Ṣaḍakṣara Mantra

Devanagari script

प्रधानपरमाण्वादि यावत्किंचिदचेतनम् । न तत्कर्तृ स्वयं दृष्टं बुद्धिमत्कारणं विना

Transliteration

pradhānaparamāṇvādi yāvatkiṃcidacetanam | na tatkartṛ svayaṃ dṛṣṭaṃ buddhimatkāraṇaṃ vinā

Translation

De Pradhāna (la Nature primordiale) jusqu’aux atomes et à tout ce qui est insensible—rien n’est jamais vu agir comme son propre artisan sans une cause intelligente ; ainsi le Seigneur, le Pati conscient, demeure la véritable cause efficiente au-delà de la matière inerte.

Word by Word

• प्रधान-परमाणु-आदि: Pradhāna, atoms, etc.
• प्रधान-परमाणु-आदि: कर्तृ (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रधान (प्रातिपदिक) + परमाणु (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter) समाहार-द्वन्द्व (collective dvandva), प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); ‘and so on’ with आदि

• यावत्: as much as / whatever
• यावत्: विशेषण-अव्यय (Adverbial qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधि-अव्यय (correlative indeclinable: ‘as far as/whatever extent’)

• किम्: anything
• किम्: कर्तृ (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); interrogative/indefinite in compound

• चित्: ever / at all (indefinite marker)
• चित्: निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चित् (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) used with interrogatives to form indefinites

• अचेतनम्: insentient
• अचेतनम्: विधेय-विशेषण (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अचेतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण

• न: not
• न: निषेध (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• तत्: that
• तत्: कर्तृ (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• कर्तृ: a doer/agent
• कर्तृ: विधेय (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक; कर्तृ-शब्द)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); कर्तृवाचक (agent noun)

• स्वयम्: by itself
• स्वयम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• दृष्टम्: is seen
• दृष्टम्: क्रिया (Verbal predicate: ‘is seen’)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त: क्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मणि प्रयोग-सूचक (passive sense)

• बुद्धिमत्-कारणम्: an intelligent cause
• बुद्धिमत्-कारणम्: अपादान/विनापद-योगे (Object of vinā; ‘without’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुद्धिमत् (प्रातिपदिक) + कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय: बुद्धिमत् कारणम् (‘intelligent cause’)

• विना: without
• विना: सम्बन्ध (Exclusion/without)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (preposition-like indeclinable) governing द्वितीया (accusative)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Vayu Samhita teaching to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Īśāna

Shakti Dimension

Role: creative

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It establishes that inert nature (Prakṛti/Pradhāna) cannot self-originate or self-govern; liberation-oriented Shaiva Siddhanta therefore points to Shiva (Pati), the conscious Lord, as the indispensable intelligent cause behind the cosmos.

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

Linga worship trains the devotee to recognize the conscious Lord as the inner ruler beyond material processes—moving from seeing the world as mere matter to seeing it as sustained and directed by Shiva, who is worshipped in Saguna form yet ultimately transcends form.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Contemplate (dhyāna) Shiva as the बुद्धिमत्कारण (intelligent cause) while repeating the Panchakshara—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—to shift attention from inert phenomena to the conscious Lord who grants grace and release.