Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 43

शिवशक्त्यैक्य-तत्त्वविचारः / Inquiry into the Unity of Śiva and Śakti

Para–Apara Ontology

Devanagari script

जातवेदा महादेवः स्वाहा शर्वार्धदेहिनी । यमस्त्रियंबको देवस्तत्प्रिया गिरिकन्यका

Transliteration

jātavedā mahādevaḥ svāhā śarvārdhadehinī | yamastriyaṃbako devastatpriyā girikanyakā

Translation

ജാതവേദാ മഹാദേവൻ; സ്വാഹാ ശർവന്റെ അർദ്ധദേഹധാരിണി. യമൻ ത്ര്യംബകദേവൻ; അവന്റെ പ്രിയ ഗിരികന്യക (പാർവതി).

Word by Word

• जातवेदाः: Jātavedas (Agni; a divine name)
• जातवेदाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जातवेदस् (प्रातिपदिक; जात + वेदस्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (जातः वेदः यस्य/जातवेदस्)

• महादेवः: Mahādeva (Great God, Śiva)
• महादेवः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेव (प्रातिपदिक; महा + देव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (महान् देवः)

• स्वाहा: svāhā (ritual exclamation)
• स्वाहा: Sambodhana/Interjection (सम्बोधन/उद्गार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वाहा (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय; होम-मन्त्रे प्रयोगः (exclamation in oblations)

• शर्वार्धदेहिनी: she whose body is half of Śarva (Śiva)
• शर्वार्धदेहिनी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर्वार्धदेहिनी (प्रातिपदिक; शर्व + अर्ध + देहिनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (शर्वस्य अर्धं देहः यस्याः)

• यमः: Yama
• यमः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• त्र्यम्बकः: Tryambaka (three-eyed one)
• त्र्यम्बकः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्र्यम्बक (प्रातिपदिक; त्रि + अम्बक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (त्रीणि अम्बकानि यस्य)

• देवः: god; Deva
• देवः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तत्प्रिया: his beloved (consort)
• तत्प्रिया: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत्प्रिया (प्रातिपदिक; तत् + प्रिया)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (तस्य प्रिया)

• गिरिकन्यका: daughter of the mountain (Pārvatī)
• गिरिकन्यका: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरिकन्यका (प्रातिपदिक; गिरि + कन्यका)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (गिरेः कन्यका)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Ardhanārīśvara

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Tryambakeśvara

Sthala Purana: The verse explicitly names Tryambaka; Tryambakeśvara is famed where Gautama Ṛṣi’s penance and the descent/appearance of Gaṅgā (Godāvarī) are linked with Śiva’s presence as Tryambaka, the three-eyed Lord.

Significance: Darśana of Tryambakeśvara and bathing in the associated tīrtha are sought for purification from pāśa (bondage) and for Śiva’s grace, especially in rites for ancestors and for inner renewal.

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam | urvārukamiva bandhanān mṛtyormukṣīya māmṛtāt ||

Type: mahamrityunjaya

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Satī

Role: liberating

Ritual Elements

Offering: dhupa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Parvati
• Yama
• Svaha

FAQs

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

The verse presents revered divine names as pointers to one supreme Pati (Śiva) together with Śakti, teaching that devotion matures when the seeker recognizes the Lord as the inner reality behind many sacred epithets and powers.

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

By naming Śiva as Mahādeva and Tryambaka and pairing him with the Mountain-Daughter, it supports Saguna upāsanā—worship of Śiva with attributes—commonly centered on the Śiva-liṅga as the accessible form of the transcendent Lord.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Use these names in japa and nāma-smaraṇa—especially “Tryambaka” and “Mahādeva”—as a focused remembrance during liṅga-pūjā, ideally alongside the Pañcākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya).