Shloka 61

गजाननपूजा तथा औपासन-होमविधिः

Worship of Gajānana and the Procedure of Aupāsana-Homa

Devanagari script

शिवो वा प्रणवो ह्येष प्रणवो वा शिवः स्मृतः । वाच्यवाचकयोर्भेदो नात्यन्तं विद्यते यतः

Transliteration

śivo vā praṇavo hyeṣa praṇavo vā śivaḥ smṛtaḥ | vācyavācakayorbhedo nātyantaṃ vidyate yataḥ

Translation

Praṇava (Oṁ) ini sungguh adalah Śiva, dan Praṇava pun dikenang sebagai Śiva sendiri. Sebab perbedaan antara yang diungkapkan (makna) dan yang mengungkapkan (bunyi-kata) tidaklah mutlak.

Word by Word

• śivaḥ: Śiva
• śivaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Disjunction marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• praṇavaḥ: Praṇava (Oṃ)
• praṇavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: praṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• eṣaḥ: this
• eṣaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; deictic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• praṇavaḥ: Praṇava
• praṇavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: praṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Disjunction marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• śivaḥ: Śiva
• śivaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• smṛtaḥ: is said (to be)
• smṛtaḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/Predicative verbal element)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अर्थे—‘कथितः/उच्यते’ (is said/considered)

• vācya-vācakayoḥ: of the denoted and the denoter
• vācya-vācakayoḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vācya (प्रातिपदिक) + vācaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन (Dual); समासः—द्वन्द्वः (वाच्यश्च वाचकश्च)

• bhedaḥ: difference
• bhedaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation particle)

• atyantam: absolutely
• atyantam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atyanta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययीभाव/अव्ययप्रयोग (adverbial accusative)

• vidyate: exists
• vidyate: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vid (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; भावे प्रयोगः (exists/is found)

• yataḥ: because
• yataḥ: Hetu (हेतु/Cause marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतुवाचक अव्यय (causal conjunction: ‘because/for’)

Speaker

Lord Shiva (teaching in the Kailasa Samhita discourse)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: oṃ

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches the non-separation of Śiva and Praṇava (Oṁ): the mantra is not merely a symbol but a living doorway to the Lord, since sound (vācaka) and the Reality it reveals (vācya) are intimately united in sacred mantra.

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

Just as the Liṅga is a sanctified form through which the devotee approaches the formless Supreme, Praṇava is the sonic form of Śiva; worship through sound and worship through form converge because both reveal the same Pati (Lord) to the bound soul (paśu).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Japa and dhyāna on Praṇava (Oṁ)—often as the seed before or within “Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya”—with steady attention to its meaning as Śiva Himself, using breath-aligned repetition for inner purification and Śiva-realization.