Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 54

पशुपाशपतिज्ञान-प्राप्तिः

Acquisition of Paśupati–Pāśa Knowledge

Devanagari script

अत्यंतमसुखावासास्स्मृताश्चैकांतमृत्यवः । अनागता अतीताश्च तनवो ऽस्य सहस्रशः

Transliteration

atyaṃtamasukhāvāsāssmṛtāścaikāṃtamṛtyavaḥ | anāgatā atītāśca tanavo 'sya sahasraśaḥ

Translation

彼らは、極度の苦患に住し、避けがたい死に定められたものとして記憶される。彼の身は無数にして、来たるものも過ぎ去ったものも、幾千と存する。

Word by Word

• atyantam: exceedingly
• atyantam: Prakāra (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atyanta (अत्यन्त प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभावार्थ)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) meaning 'excessively/utterly'

• asukhāvāsāḥ: (they) are abodes of unhappiness
• asukhāvāsāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a- + sukha (प्रातिपदिक) + āvāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); compound: 'sukha-āvāsa' with negation = 'abode of happiness' → 'abode of discomfort'

• smṛtāḥ: are regarded (as)
• smṛtāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (स्मृ धातु) + kta (क्त) → smṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); past passive participle (क्त) used predicatively: 'are considered/remembered'

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction (समुच्चय)

• ekāntamṛtyavaḥ: inevitable deaths
• ekāntamṛtyavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ekānta (प्रातिपदिक) + mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); karmadhāraya: 'ekāntaḥ mṛtyuḥ' = 'certain/inevitable death'

• anāgatāḥ: future (not yet come)
• anāgatāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anāgata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); agrees with tanavaḥ

• atītāḥ: past
• atītāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: atīta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); agrees with tanavaḥ

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction (समुच्चय)

• tanavaḥ: bodies
• tanavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (तनु प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• asya: of him / of this (being)
• asya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुंसक), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन); pronoun

• sahasraśaḥ: by thousands
• sahasraśaḥ: Prakāra/Parimāṇa (प्रकार/परिमाण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasraśas (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) meaning 'by thousands, in thousands'

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It highlights the Shaiva Siddhanta view that the bound soul (paśu), constrained by bonds (pāśa) like karma and ignorance, repeatedly takes innumerable bodies marked by suffering and certain death—thereby urging refuge in Pati (Lord Shiva) for liberation.

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

By stressing the misery of repeated embodiment, the verse supports turning to accessible Saguna Shiva—worshiped as the Linga—as the compassionate means through which Shiva’s grace purifies karma and leads the soul beyond death-bound cycles.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is steady japa of the Panchakshara mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) with daily Linga worship (abhisheka) and remembrance of Shiva, cultivating detachment from transient bodies and orientation toward moksha.