Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 34

लिङ्गप्रतिष्ठा-माहात्म्यम् / The Greatness of Liṅga Installation

Devanagari script

क्षयवृद्धिविनिर्मुक्तमादिमध्यांतवर्जितम् । तस्य ज्वालासहस्रेण ब्रह्मविष्णू विमोहितौ

Transliteration

kṣayavṛddhivinirmuktamādimadhyāṃtavarjitam | tasya jvālāsahasreṇa brahmaviṣṇū vimohitau

Translation

Ia bebas dari lenyap dan bertambah, tanpa awal, tengah, maupun akhir; oleh seribu nyala cahayanya, Brahmā dan Viṣṇu pun terpesona dan bingung.

Word by Word

• क्षय-वृद्धि-विनिर्मुक्तम्: free from decay and growth
• क्षय-वृद्धि-विनिर्मुक्तम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षय + वृद्धि + विनिर्मुक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष; 'विनिर्मुक्त' = कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle) from मुच् with वि+निर्; विशेषण

• आदि-मध्य-अन्त-वर्जितम्: devoid of beginning, middle, and end
• आदि-मध्य-अन्त-वर्जितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आदि + मध्य + अन्त + वर्जित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष; 'वर्जित' = कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, PPP) from वर्ज्/वृज् 'to exclude'; विशेषण

• तस्य: of it/of that (liṅga)
• तस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ज्वाला-सहस्रेण: by a thousand flames
• ज्वाला-सहस्रेण: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्वाला + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/तृतीया), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (ज्वालानां सहस्रम्)

• ब्रह्म: Brahmā
• ब्रह्म: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• विष्णू: Viṣṇu
• विष्णू: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• विमोहितौ: were bewildered
• विमोहितौ: Kriyā (क्रिया/भाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + मुह् (धातु) → विमोहित (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, PPP) used predicatively; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन (dual)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Liṅgodbhava

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: The liṅga is described as beyond kṣaya-vṛddhi and beyond ādi-madhya-anta; its thousand flames bewilder Brahmā and Viṣṇu—signaling the incapacity of limited cognition to measure the Absolute.

Significance: Meditating on Śiva as akṣara (beyond decay/growth) loosens pāśa (bondage) of māyā and māna (pride), preparing the paśu for anugraha through surrender rather than speculation.

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Revelation of the timeless (anādi) and endless (ananta) nature of Śiva’s jyotis; cognitive eclipse (vimohana) of creator and preserver deities.

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Brahma
• Vishnu

FAQs

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

It points to Śiva as the limitless Pati—beyond change (growth/decay) and beyond time (no beginning, middle, or end)—before whom even cosmic powers like Brahmā and Viṣṇu cannot fully measure the Absolute.

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

The ‘thousand flames’ evokes the Jyoti-Liṅga motif: the Liṅga as Śiva’s manifest sign (saguṇa upāsanā) that reveals the formless, immeasurable reality (nirguṇa) through a worshipable symbol.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Śiva as infinite light (jyoti-dhyāna) while repeating the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—to dissolve egoic measurement and rest in devotion to the boundless Lord.