Shloka 35

उमामहेश्वरव्रतं—पञ्चाक्षरमन्त्रस्य माहात्म्यं, न्यासः, जपविधिः, सदाचारः, विनियोगः

Devanagari script

वाच्यवाचकभावो ऽयम् अनादिः संस्थितस्तयोः वेदे शिवागमे वापि यत्र यत्र षडक्षरः

Transliteration

vācyavācakabhāvo 'yam anādiḥ saṃsthitastayoḥ vede śivāgame vāpi yatra yatra ṣaḍakṣaraḥ

Translation

വാച്യവും വാചകവും തമ്മിലുള്ള ഈ ബന്ധം അനാദിയാണ്; ഇരുവരിലും നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു. വേദത്തിലായാലും ശൈവ ആഗമത്തിലായാലും എവിടെയെവിടെ ഷഡക്ഷരമന്ത്രം ഉണ്ടോ, അവിടെയെല്ലാം മന്ത്ര–ശിവതത്ത്വത്തിന്റെ നിത്യബന്ധം സ്ഥാപിതമാണ്।

Word by Word

• vācya: that which is denoted/meaning

• vācaka: that which denotes/the word or sound

• bhāvaḥ: relation, state, linkage

• ayam: this

• anādiḥ: beginningless, without origin

• saṃsthitaḥ: established, abiding

• tayoḥ: of the two (vācya and vācaka)

• vede: in the Veda

• śiva-āgame: in the Śiva Āgama (Śaiva scriptures)

• vā api: or also

• yatra yatra: wherever, in whatever place/text

• ṣaḍ-akṣaraḥ: the six-syllabled mantra (Ṣaḍakṣarī).

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana teaching on the Ṣaḍakṣara mantra within the Purva-Bhaga discourse)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Veda
• Shiva Agama

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It grounds Linga-centered Śaiva practice in mantra-pramāṇa: the six-syllabled mantra is valid wherever it appears, and its sound (vācaka) is inseparably linked to its meaning (vācya), i.e., Shiva-tattva worshipped through the Linga.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Shiva-tattva is indicated as eternally accessible through mantra: the relation between the sacred sound and the reality it reveals is beginningless, implying Shiva as Pati (Lord) who is ever-present as the mantra’s meaning and power.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Mantra-japa and mantra-dhyāna of the Ṣaḍakṣarī are emphasized—central to Pāśupata-oriented sādhana—where disciplined repetition aligns the pashu (soul) away from pāśa (bondage) toward Pati (Shiva).