Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 18

मन्दरगिरिवर्णनम् — Description of Mount Mandara as Śiva’s Residence

Tapas-abode

Devanagari script

गुहामुखैः प्रतिदिनं व्यात्तास्यो विपुलोदरैः । अजीर्णलावण्यतया जृंभमाण इवाचलः

Transliteration

guhāmukhaiḥ pratidinaṃ vyāttāsyo vipulodaraiḥ | ajīrṇalāvaṇyatayā jṛṃbhamāṇa ivācalaḥ

Translation

പ്രതിദിനം ഗുഹാമുഖങ്ങൾ വായ്തുറന്ന് നില്ക്കെ, വിശാലോദരനായ ജീവി വായ് പിളർത്തിയതുപോലെ; അജീർണ്ണം മൂലം ലാവണ്യം മങ്ങിയത് പോലെ, ആ പർവ്വതം ജംഭിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ തോന്നി।

Word by Word

• guhā-mukhaiḥ: with cave-mouths (cave-openings)
• guhā-mukhaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण) — descriptive feature
• Type: Noun
• Root: guhā (प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Tṛtīyā (Instr. 3), Bahuvacana (pl.)

• prati-dinam: day by day, daily
• prati-dinam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prati (अव्यय) + dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (adverb)

• vyātta-āsyaḥ: having a gaping mouth
• vyātta-āsyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) — describing acalaḥ
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-ā√dā (धातु) → vyātta (कृदन्त) + āsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (Nom. 1), Ekavacana (sg.); बहुव्रीहिः—यस्य आस्यं व्यात्तम् सः

• vipula-udaraiḥ: with broad bellies (caverns)
• vipula-udaraiḥ: Karaṇa (करण) — descriptive
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vipula (प्रातिपदिक) + udara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Tṛtīyā (Instr. 3), Bahuvacana (pl.); बहुव्रीहिः—येṣāṃ udaraṃ vipulam

• ajīrṇa-lāvaṇya-tayā: by reason of undigested beauty (unassimilated splendor)
• ajīrṇa-lāvaṇya-tayā: Hetu/Karaṇa (हेतु/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ajīrṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + lāvaṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + tā (प्रातिपदिक/प्रत्यय)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Tṛtīyā (Instr. 3), Ekavacana (sg.); भाववाचक-तद्धित (abstract noun in -tā) indicating cause/manner

• jṛṃbhamāṇaḥ: yawning, expanding
• jṛṃbhamāṇaḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण) / Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jṛmbh (धातु)
• Form: Śānac-pratyaya (present middle participle), Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (Nom. 1), Ekavacana (sg.)

• iva: as if
• iva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: Upamā-avyaya (comparative particle)

• acalaḥ: the mountain
• acalaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: acala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (Nom. 1), Ekavacana (sg.)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: The imagery of gaping cave-mouths and a ‘yawning’ mountain functions as a liminal-space motif (guhā as threshold), preparing the mind for hidden divinity and the mystery of Śiva’s concealment (tirodhāna).

Significance: Encourages inward turning: the ‘cave-mouth’ suggests the heart-cave (hṛdaya-guhā) where the Lord is realized when concealment is pierced by grace.

FAQs

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

The verse uses vivid nature-imagery to show how worldly beauty can appear diminished and unstable; in Shaiva Siddhanta, this points to vairāgya (dispassion) and the need to seek Pati (Shiva) rather than be captivated by changing external forms.

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

By highlighting the unreliability of sensory charm in the manifested world, it indirectly supports Saguna Shiva worship (such as Linga-upāsanā) as a steady focus for devotion, leading the mind from form to the transcendent reality of Shiva.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is daily japa of the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—with steady breath and attention, using the verse as a contemplation on impermanence and the turn inward toward Shiva.