Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 9

योगाचार्यरूपेण शर्वावताराः (Śarva’s manifestations as Yoga-Teachers)

Devanagari script

विकोशश्च विकेशश्च विपाशः पाशनाशनः । सुमुखो दुर्मुखश्चैव दुर्गमो दुरतिक्रमः

Transliteration

vikośaśca vikeśaśca vipāśaḥ pāśanāśanaḥ | sumukho durmukhaścaiva durgamo duratikramaḥ

Translation

Il est Vikośa et Vikeśa ; Il est Vipāśa, le Destructeur des liens (pāśa). Il a le visage de bon augure et aussi le visage terrible ; Il est difficile d’accès et nul ne peut le franchir : le Seigneur Śiva, Pati suprême, qui seul tranche les pāśa enchaînant le paśu.

Word by Word

• vikośaḥ: Vikośa (name)
• vikośaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vikośa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; proper name/epithet

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय)

• vikeśaḥ: Vikeśa (name)
• vikeśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vikeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; proper name/epithet

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय)

• vipāśaḥ: Vipāśa (name)
• vipāśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; proper name/epithet

• pāśanāśanaḥ: destroyer of bonds
• pāśanāśanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa (genitive determinative) ‘destroyer of bonds/nooses’

• sumukhaḥ: pleasant-faced; Sumukha (name)
• sumukhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; karmadhāraya ‘good-faced/pleasant-faced’

• durmukhaḥ: evil-faced; Durmukha (name)
• durmukhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; karmadhāraya ‘evil-faced’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (अवधारण)

• durgamaḥ: hard to approach; Durgama (name)
• durgamaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + gama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; upapada-tatpuruṣa ‘difficult to go/approach’

• duratikramaḥ: hard to surpass; Duratikrama (name)
• duratikramaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur (उपसर्ग) + ati (उपसर्ग) + krama (धातु √क्रम्) → atikrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa ‘difficult to transgress/overcome’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Bhairava

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga narrative; the verse functions as a nāma-stuti highlighting Śiva’s paradoxical accessibility (sumukha/durmukha; durgama/duratikrama) and his unique capacity to destroy pāśa (bondage).

Significance: Doctrinally central for Siddhānta: only Pati (Śiva) is pāśanāśana—cutter of bonds—therefore refuge (śaraṇāgati) and devotion to Śiva are the direct means to anugraha.

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: vikośaśca vikeśaśca vipāśaḥ pāśanāśanaḥ | sumukho durmukhaścaiva durgamo duratikramaḥ

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: liberating

Ritual Elements

Offering: dhupa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

This verse praises Śiva through contrasting epithets—gentle and terrible, accessible and unreachable—to show His transcendence and immanence. As Pāśanāśana, He alone removes the bonds (pāśas) that limit the soul (paśu), leading it toward liberation under the grace of the supreme Lord (Pati).

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

The many names point to Saguna Śiva—worshipped as the Liṅga and as personal forms—through which devotees approach the transcendent reality. Meditating on these names while worshipping the Liṅga frames Śiva as both compassionate (Sumukha) and the fierce remover of impurity and bondage (Durmukha, Pāśanāśana).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is nāma-japa: recite these epithets of Śiva with the Pañcākṣarī mantra (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), ideally alongside Liṅga-pūjā with vibhūti (Tripuṇḍra) and Rudrākṣa, praying specifically for the cutting of pāśa (bondage) and the rise of Śiva-consciousness.