Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 42

पाशुपतज्ञानप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Pāśupata Knowledge

Paśu–Pāśa–Paśupati

Devanagari script

वर्तमानान्यतीतानि भविष्यन्त्यपि कृत्स्नशः । दिशश्च विदिशश्चैव कालभेदाः कलादयः

Transliteration

vartamānānyatītāni bhaviṣyantyapi kṛtsnaśaḥ | diśaśca vidiśaścaiva kālabhedāḥ kalādayaḥ

Translation

Tout—le présent, le passé et même l’avenir—est connu dans sa totalité; de même les directions et les directions intermédiaires, les divisions du temps et les diverses mesures commençant par la kalā.

Word by Word

• वर्तमानानि: present (things)
• वर्तमानानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर्तमान (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √वृत् (धातु) + शतृ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; वर्तमान-कालवाचक विशेषण (present)

• अतीतानि: past (things)
• अतीतानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतीत (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; अति-√इ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; भूतकालवाचक विशेषण (past)

• भविष्यन्ति: exist/occur
• भविष्यन्ति: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

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

• कृत्स्नशः: entirely
• कृत्स्नशः: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृत्स्नशस् (अव्यय; कृत्स्न + शस्)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb); प्रकार/परिमाणवाचक—‘entirely, wholly’

• दिशः: directions
• दिशः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• विदिशः: intermediate directions
• विदिशः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विदिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; उपदिशा/उपदिशः (intermediate directions)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (particle of emphasis)

• कालभेदाः: divisions of time
• कालभेदाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल-भेद (प्रातिपदिक; काल + भेद)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—‘कालस्य भेदाः’ (divisions of time)

• कलादयः: kalās and the rest
• कलादयः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला-आदि (प्रातिपदिक; कला + आदि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; ‘कला-आदयः’ = ‘कलाः आदयः येषां ते’ इति समाहार-निर्देशः (kalā etc.)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya teaching to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: No Jyotirliṅga linkage; the verse asserts Śiva’s transcendence over time (past/present/future) and space (directions), themes used in Siddhānta to distinguish Pati from māyā-bound categories.

Significance: Encourages jñāna-bhakti: meditating on Śiva as the knower and ruler of time-space loosens identification with kāla and deśa (key aspects of pāśa).

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

FAQs

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

It points to the all-encompassing knowledge that includes past, present, future, space (directions), and time-measures—highlighting that the Supreme Lord (Pati) is not limited by kāla (time) or deśa (space), unlike the bound soul (paśu).

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

The Liṅga is revered as the sign of the limitless Reality: when devotees worship Saguna Shiva through the Liṅga, they contemplate the Lord as the ground of all time and space, whose awareness is complete and undivided.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Shiva as Kāla-kāla (Lord over time) while repeating the Panchakshara—"Om Namaḥ Śivāya"—and mentally offer all past actions, present experience, and future anxieties into the Liṅga as an inner surrender.