Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 38

समयाह्वय-संस्कारः — Rite of ‘Samayāhvaya’ and the Preparatory Layout

Maṇḍapa, Vedi, Kuṇḍas, Maṇḍala, Śiva-kumbha

Devanagari script

शिवतेजोमयं पाणिं शिवमंत्रमुदीरयेत् । शिवाभिमानसंपन्नो न्यसेच्छिष्यस्य मस्तके

Transliteration

śivatejomayaṃ pāṇiṃ śivamaṃtramudīrayet | śivābhimānasaṃpanno nyasecchiṣyasya mastake

Translation

ദേശികൻ തന്റെ കൈയെ ശിവതേജസ്സാൽ നിറച്ച് ശിവമന്ത്രം ഉച്ചരിക്കണം; ശിവാഭിമാനസമ്പന്നനായി ആ കൈ ശിഷ്യന്റെ മസ്തകത്തിൽ ന്യസിക്കണം।

Word by Word

• śiva-tejaḥ-mayam: consisting of Śiva’s energy
• śiva-tejaḥ-mayam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + tejas (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; Tatpuruṣa: ‘made of Śiva’s radiance’ (शिवस्य तेजः यस्य/येन) used adjectivally

• pāṇim: hand
• pāṇim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• śiva-mantram: the Śiva-mantra
• śiva-mantram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; Tatpuruṣa: ‘Śiva-mantra’

• udīrayet: should utter/recite
• udīrayet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√īr (धातु)
• Form: Optative (विधिलिङ्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular; parasmaipada

• śiva-abhimāna-sampannaḥ: one endowed with Śiva-identification
• śiva-abhimāna-sampannaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + abhimāna (प्रातिपदिक) + sampanna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; Tatpuruṣa: ‘endowed with identification/pride in Śiva’ (शिवे अभिमानः यस्य)

• nyaset: should place
• nyaset: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: Optative (विधिलिङ्), 3rd Person, Singular; parasmaipada; in context ‘to place/perform nyāsa’

• śiṣyasya: of the disciple
• śiṣyasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• mastake: on the head
• mastake: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mastaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīyasaṃhitā teaching to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: Encapsulates Siddhānta’s grace-mechanism: the guru becomes ‘śivābhimāna-saṃpanna’ (imbued with Śiva-consciousness) so that Śiva’s anugraha can be transmitted through nyāsa to the disciple’s head—symbolic seat of cognition and command faculties.

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: (implied) oṃ namaḥ śivāya / śiva-mantra (not explicitly quoted)

Type: panchakshara

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It describes mantra-dīkṣā as an act of Śiva’s grace transmitted through the guru: the guru invokes Śiva’s tejas, recites the Śiva-mantra, and confers spiritual awakening by the head-touch (nyāsa), establishing Śiva-bhāva in the disciple.

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

The Śiva-mantra is a Saguna support that leads the disciple toward realization of Śiva as Pati (the Lord). The guru’s nyāsa sanctifies the practitioner so that Linga-worship and japa become effective means for purification and Śiva’s anugraha.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A formal Śiva-mantra initiation: recitation of the Śiva-mantra with the guru’s hand placed on the disciple’s head as a nyāsa, accompanied by cultivating Śiva-abhimāna (steady contemplative identification with Śiva) during japa and worship.