Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 17

द्वितीयतृतीयावरणपूजाक्रमः | The Sequence of the Second and Third Enclosure Worship (Āvaraṇa-pūjā)

Devanagari script

गजास्यं नैरृते पत्रे षण्मुखं वारुणे पुनः । ज्येष्ठां वायुदले गौरीमुत्तरे चंडमैश्वरे

Transliteration

gajāsyaṃ nairṛte patre ṣaṇmukhaṃ vāruṇe punaḥ | jyeṣṭhāṃ vāyudale gaurīmuttare caṃḍamaiśvare

Translation

നൈഋത്യ ദളത്തിൽ ഗജാസ്യൻ (ഗണേശൻ)നെ ധ്യാനിച്ച് സ്ഥാപിക്കണം; വീണ്ടും വാർുണ (പശ്ചിമ) ദളത്തിൽ ഷൺമുഖൻ (സ്കന്ദൻ)നെ ആരാധിക്കണം. വായവ്യ ദളത്തിൽ ജ്യേഷ്ഠാ, ഉത്തര ദളത്തിൽ ഗൗരി, ഈശാന (വടക്കുകിഴക്ക്) ദളത്തിൽ ചണ്ഡമഹേശ്വരനെ പൂജിക്കണം.

Word by Word

• gaja-āsyam: the elephant-faced one (Gaṇeśa)
• gaja-āsyam: Karma (कर्म) (object of implied yajet/arcayet)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaja (प्रातिपदिक) + āsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), Dvitīyā (Accusative, 2nd), Ekavacana (Singular); Ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: 'gajasya āsyaṃ' (elephant-faced)

• nairṛte: in the south-west (quarter)
• nairṛte: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nairṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/napuṃsaka (context: direction), Saptamī (Locative, 7th), Ekavacana (Singular); directional adjective

• patre: on the leaf/petal
• patre: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), Saptamī (Locative, 7th), Ekavacana (Singular)

• ṣaṇ-mukham: the six-faced one (Skanda)
• ṣaṇ-mukham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), Dvitīyā (Accusative, 2nd), Ekavacana (Singular); dvigu compound 'six-faced'

• vāruṇe: in the western (quarter)
• vāruṇe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/napuṃsaka (context: direction), Saptamī (Locative, 7th), Ekavacana (Singular); pertaining to Varuṇa (west)

• punaḥ: again/further
• punaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (पुनरावृत्तिबोधक अव्यय)

• jyeṣṭhām: Jyeṣṭhā (goddess)
• jyeṣṭhām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyeṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine), Dvitīyā (Accusative, 2nd), Ekavacana (Singular)

• vāyu-dale: in the Vāyu (air) petal/section
• vāyu-dale: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + dala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), Saptamī (Locative, 7th), Ekavacana (Singular); Ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: 'vāyoḥ dale' (in the Vāyu-sector/petal)

• gaurīm: Gaurī (Pārvatī)
• gaurīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaurī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine), Dvitīyā (Accusative, 2nd), Ekavacana (Singular)

• uttare: in the northern (quarter)
• uttare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/napuṃsaka (context: direction), Saptamī (Locative, 7th), Ekavacana (Singular)

• caṇḍama-īśvare: in/at Caṇḍameśvara
• caṇḍama-īśvare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṇḍamā (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Saptamī (Locative, 7th), Ekavacana (Singular); tatpuruṣa: 'caṇḍamāyāḥ īśvare' / 'caṇḍamasya īśvare' (name of a deity/Īśvara form)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Bhairava

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga episode; the verse is a nyāsa/āvaraṇa-style placement of deities in directional petals around the central Śiva-maṇḍala, typical of Vāyavīya ritual mapping.

Significance: Supports internal pilgrimage (antaryātrā): stabilizing the sādhaka’s maṇḍala by honoring Śiva’s family/gaṇa-śaktis in the quarters, removing obstacles and harmonizing energies before main worship.

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Gaurī

Role: nurturing

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Ganesha
• Kartikeya
• Parvati
• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse teaches a Shaiva dhyāna-krama (ordered contemplation) where Śiva’s worship is supported by placing attendant divine powers in specific directions/petals, expressing that the cosmos and its śaktis are harmonized around Pati (Śiva) for inner concentration and grace.

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

It aligns with Saguna upāsanā: while Śiva is the supreme Pati, the practitioner meditatively installs associated forms—Gaṇeśa, Skanda, Gaurī, and Caṇḍamaheśvara—around the sacred center (often the Liṅga/maṇḍala), making worship complete, protected, and ritually orthodox in Shaiva practice.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A petal/directional nyāsa and dhyāna: mentally place these deities in their respective quarters while worshipping Śiva, then proceed with mantra-japa (such as the Pañcākṣarī) and offerings; this stabilizes attention and invokes auspicious guardianship for the sādhana.