Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 32
पञ्चाक्षर-षडक्षरमन्त्र-माहात्म्यम् | The Greatness of the Pañcākṣara/Ṣaḍakṣara Mantra
सप्तकोटिमहामन्त्रैरुपमन्त्रैरनेकधा । मन्त्रः षडक्षरो भिन्नस्सूत्रं वृत्यात्मना यथा
saptakoṭimahāmantrairupamantrairanekadhā | mantraḥ ṣaḍakṣaro bhinnassūtraṃ vṛtyātmanā yathā
ഏഴ് കോടി മഹാമന്ത്രങ്ങളാലും അനേകം ഉപമന്ത്രങ്ങളാലും പലവിധമായി പ്രസരിപ്പിച്ചാലും, ഷഡക്ഷര മന്ത്രം സ്വരൂപത്തിൽ ഒന്നുതന്നെ—ഒരേ നൂൽ ഉപയോഗഭേദംകൊണ്ട് പല രൂപങ്ങളായി തോന്നുന്നതുപോലെ।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Mantra: oṃ namaḥ śivāya
Type: panchakshara
Role: liberating
FAQs
It teaches that the many mantras used in Shaiva worship are expressions of one underlying Mantra-principle of Shiva; multiplicity belongs to practice and function, while the essence is a single path toward grace and liberation.
Just as one Shiva is adored through many forms (including the Linga), one mantra is applied through many ritual and contemplative variations; Saguna supports the seeker’s approach, while the mantra’s inner unity points toward the higher, formless truth.
Hold to one chosen Shiva-mantra (the six-syllabled mantra) with steady japa and dhyana, while treating auxiliary mantras as supportive—like different uses of one thread—rather than as competing paths.