Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 19

पूजाविधान-व्याख्या (Pūjāvidhāna-vyākhyā) — Exposition of the Procedure of Worship

Devanagari script

मन्त्रन्यासादिकां चापि कृत्वा स्वस्यां तनौ यथा । अस्यां मूर्तौ मूर्तिमंतं शिवं सदसतः परम्

Transliteration

mantranyāsādikāṃ cāpi kṛtvā svasyāṃ tanau yathā | asyāṃ mūrtau mūrtimaṃtaṃ śivaṃ sadasataḥ param

Translation

വിധിപ്രകാരം സ്വന്തം ദേഹത്തിൽ മന്ത്രന്യാസാദി കർമങ്ങൾ നിർവഹിച്ചു, ഈ മൂർത്തിയിലേ തന്നെ സന്നിഹിതനായ ശിവനെ ധ്യാനിക്കണം—അനുഗ്രഹാർത്ഥം സാകാരനാകുന്നവൻ, എങ്കിലും വ്യക്ത-അവ്യക്ത ഇരുവർക്കും അതീതനായ പരമൻ।

Word by Word

• mantra-nyāsa-ādikām: (rites) such as mantra-installation etc.
• mantra-nyāsa-ādikām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक) + nyāsa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Dvitīyā (Acc./2nd), Ekavacana; samāhāra/collection sense: “(acts) beginning with mantra-nyāsa”

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (conjunction)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (particle: also)

• kṛtvā: having performed
• kṛtvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय), “having done”; avyaya-kriyāviśeṣaṇa

• svasyām: in one’s own
• svasyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Saptamī (Loc./7th), Ekavacana; sarvanāma-prayoga; refers to ‘one’s own (body)’

• tanau: body
• tanau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Saptamī (Loc./7th), Ekavacana

• yathā: as/according to
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (adverb/conjunction: ‘as/according to’)

• asyām: in this
• asyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Saptamī (Loc./7th), Ekavacana; demonstrative pronoun

• mūrtau: form/icon
• mūrtau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Saptamī (Loc./7th), Ekavacana

• mūrtimantam: embodied
• mūrtimantam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūrtimat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Dvitīyā (Acc./2nd), Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of śivam

• śivam: Śiva
• śivam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Dvitīyā (Acc./2nd), Ekavacana

• sat-asataḥ: of the real and unreal
• sat-asataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + asat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), Ṣaṣṭhī (Gen./6th), Ekavacana; itaretara-dvandva in sense ‘of being and non-being’

• param: supreme/beyond
• param: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Dvitīyā (Acc./2nd), Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of śivam

Speaker

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

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that worship begins with inner consecration (nyāsa), so the body becomes a fit seat for awareness of Shiva, who is worshipped in form yet remains the Supreme beyond all categories of existence and non-existence.

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

It affirms saguna-upāsanā: after sanctifying oneself through mantra-nyāsa, the devotee invokes and contemplates Shiva’s real presence in the worshipped form (mūrti/liṅga), while remembering that His essence transcends both the manifest and the unmanifest.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Perform mantra-nyāsa (placing the mantra and its power in the limbs/heart), then meditate that Shiva—though beyond all—abides in the chosen icon for worship, making external pūjā and internal dhyāna one continuous practice.