Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 39
मन्त्रसिद्ध्यर्थं गुरुपूजा–आज्ञा–पौरश्चर्यविधिः / Guru-Authorization, Offerings, and Puraścaraṇa for Mantra-Siddhi
अंगुष्ठं मोक्षदं विद्यात्तर्जनीं शत्रुनाशिनीम् । मध्यमां धनदां शांतिं करोत्येषा ह्यनामिका । अष्टोत्तरशतं माला तत्र स्यादुत्तमोत्तमा । शतसंख्योत्तमा माला पञ्चाशद्भिस्तु मध्यमा
aṃguṣṭhaṃ mokṣadaṃ vidyāttarjanīṃ śatrunāśinīm | madhyamāṃ dhanadāṃ śāṃtiṃ karotyeṣā hyanāmikā | aṣṭottaraśataṃ mālā tatra syāduttamottamā | śatasaṃkhyottamā mālā pañcāśadbhistu madhyamā
അംഗുഷ്ഠം മോക്ഷദായകമെന്നും, തർജനീ ശത്രുനാശിനിയെന്നും അറിയണം. മദ്ധ്യമ വിരൽ ധനദായകമാണ്; അനാമിക നിശ്ചയമായും ശാന്തി വരുത്തുന്നു. ഈ അനുഷ്ഠാനത്തിൽ 108 മണിയുള്ള മാല അത്യുത്തമം; 100 മണിയുള്ളത് ഉത്തമം; 50 മണിയുള്ളത് മധ്യമം എന്നു പറയുന്നു.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Sthala Purana: Instructional japa-vidhi: mapping fingers to specific phalas and ranking mālā sizes (108/100/50).
Significance: General: promotes standardized japa-counts (108) and correct hasta-vyāpāra (finger usage) for siddhi and śānti, culminating in mokṣa-oriented practice.
Role: teaching
FAQs
It teaches disciplined mantra-japa as a Shaiva sadhana: the body and its instruments (fingers and mala) are sanctified for inner purification, leading toward śānti and ultimately mokṣa through Shiva’s grace (Pati).
Japa—commonly of the Panchākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—is a direct form of Saguna Shiva worship, often performed before the Shiva-linga with devotion; the verse standardizes the practical method (mala counts and finger-associations) that supports steady concentration.
Mantra repetition using a mālā, ideally of 108 beads (or 100/50 as alternatives), with mindful counting; it also implies finger-based counting/nyāsa-style awareness where each finger is contemplated for a specific spiritual fruit (mokṣa, obstacle-removal, prosperity, peace).