Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 42

ध्यानप्रकारनिर्णयः / Determination of the Modes of Meditation

on Śrīkaṇṭha-Śiva

Devanagari script

वज्रतंदुलवज्ज्ञेयं तथा पापेन योगिनः । न लिप्यंते च तापौघैः पद्मपत्रं यथांभसा

Transliteration

vajrataṃdulavajjñeyaṃ tathā pāpena yoginaḥ | na lipyaṃte ca tāpaughaiḥ padmapatraṃ yathāṃbhasā

Translation

പാപത്തിന്റെ കാര്യത്തിൽ യോഗികൾ വജ്രംപോലെ കഠിനമായ ധാന്യത്തുല്യരെന്ന് അറിയുക. താപദുഃഖങ്ങളുടെ പ്രളയത്താൽ അവർ ലിപ്തരാകുന്നില്ല—ജലം തൊടാതെ നിൽക്കുന്ന പദ്മപത്രംപോലെ.

Word by Word

• वज्रतन्दुलवत्: like diamond-grains (very hard/untouched)
• वज्रतन्दुलवत्: विशेषण (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वज्र-तन्दुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्; उपमानवाचक-तत्पुरुषः (वज्रस्य तन्दुलः इव) + अव्ययवत्-प्रत्ययः; adjectival use

• ज्ञेयम्: to be known; should be understood
• ज्ञेयम्: विधेय-विशेषण (Predicative adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु) + यत् (कृत्)
• Form: कर्मणि भविष्यत्/विधेयार्थक-कर्तव्यतावाचक कृत्य-प्रत्यय (यत्); नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्

• तथा: thus; likewise
• तथा: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb of manner)

• पापेन: by sin
• पापेन: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया (करण/Instrumental) एकवचनम्

• योगिनः: of the yogin
• योगिनः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योगिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध/Genitive) एकवचनम्

• न: not
• न: निषेध (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्ययम् (negation particle)

• लिप्यन्ते: are smeared/tainted
• लिप्यन्ते: क्रिया (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लिप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), कर्मणि प्रयोगः (Passive); प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• तापौघैः: by floods/streams of suffering
• तापौघैः: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताप-ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया (करण/Instrumental) बहुवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तापानाम् ओघः)

• पद्मपत्रम्: a lotus-leaf
• पद्मपत्रम्: उपमान (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद्म-पत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (पद्मस्य पत्रम्)

• यथा: as; just like
• यथा: उपमान-सम्बन्ध (Comparative marker/उपमानसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक अव्ययम् (comparative particle: 'as')

• अम्भसा: by water
• अम्भसा: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया (करण/Instrumental) एकवचनम्

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Āghoramūrti

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: No direct Jyotirliṅga link; the verse uses similes (vajra-grain; lotus leaf) to describe the yogin’s non-adherence of pāpa and tāpa, implying protective grace and inner insulation.

Significance: General: association with Śiva-yogins and cultivation of yoga/bhakti yields pāpa-kṣaya and resilience to duḥkha; the lotus-leaf simile is a standard marker of non-attachment.

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches the Shaiva ideal of inner purity and non-attachment: when the mind is established in Shiva (Pati), the bonds of pāpa and the heat of worldly distress cannot cling, like water on a lotus leaf.

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

Linga-worship and Saguna Shiva devotion train steadiness, humility, and one-pointedness; through such Shiva-bhakti and Shiva-yoga, the devotee becomes inwardly firm and untainted, reflecting the verse’s lotus-leaf metaphor.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Practice steady Shiva-dhyāna with japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), cultivating vairāgya (lotus-leaf detachment) so that pleasures and pains do not adhere to the mind.