Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 47

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

Para–Apara Ontology

Devanagari script

अनंतवलयो ऽनंतो ह्यनंतानंतवल्लभा । कालाग्निरुद्रः कालारिः काली कालांतकप्रिया

Transliteration

anaṃtavalayo 'naṃto hyanaṃtānaṃtavallabhā | kālāgnirudraḥ kālāriḥ kālī kālāṃtakapriyā

Translation

അവൻ അനന്തവലയൻ, അനന്തൻ—സത്യമായും അനന്തൻ. അവൾ അനന്താ, അനന്തവല്ലഭ. അവൻ കാലാഗ്നിരുദ്രൻ, കാലത്തിന്റെ ശത്രു; അവൾ കാളി, കാലാന്തകപ്രിയ.

Word by Word

• anaṃta-valayaḥ: he who has endless coils/bracelets
• anaṃta-valayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject; epithet)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anaṃta (प्रातिपदिक) + valaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; bahuvrīhi: ‘anaṃtāni valayāni yasya saḥ’ (having endless coils/bracelets)

• anaṃtaḥ: Ananta (the Infinite)
• anaṃtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anaṃta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa/Hetu-nipāta (indeed/for)

• anaṃtā-anaṃta-vallabhā: beloved of Ananta/the Infinite
• anaṃtā-anaṃta-vallabhā: Karta (कर्ता/subject; epithet)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anaṃtā (प्रातिपदिक) + anaṃta (प्रातिपदिक) + vallabhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa (multi-member): ‘anaṃtāyāḥ anaṃtasya vallabhā’ (beloved of Ananta; also ‘beloved of the infinite’)

• kāla-agni-rudraḥ: Kālāgnirudra
• kāla-agni-rudraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक) + rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; karmadhāraya (name): ‘kāla-agni-rudraḥ’ (Rudra as the fire of Time)

• kāla-ariḥ: enemy of Time/Death
• kāla-ariḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject; epithet)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: ‘kālasya ariḥ’

• kālī: Kālī
• kālī: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kālī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• kāla-aṃtaka-priyā: beloved of Kālāntaka
• kāla-aṃtaka-priyā: Karta (कर्ता/subject; epithet)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + aṃtaka (प्रातिपदिक) + priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: ‘kālāntakasya priyā’ (dear to the ender of Time/Death)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Kālāntaka

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Mahākāleśvara

Sthala Purana: Mahākāla as the Lord beyond Time: the jyotirliṅga tradition at Ujjayinī venerates Śiva as Mahākāla who subdues Kāla (death/time). This verse’s “kālāgnirudra / kālāri / kālāntaka” directly resonates with that theology of time-transcendence.

Significance: Darśana of Mahākāla is sought for fearlessness before death, removal of time-bound anxieties, and ripening of vairāgya leading toward liberation.

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: liberating

Ritual Elements

Offering: dipa

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: Time/death (Kāla) is thematized as the cosmic adversary subdued by Rudra-fire (kālāgni).

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Parvati

FAQs

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

It praises Shiva and Shakti as Ananta (endless) and as masters of Kāla (time), indicating that devotion to the Supreme Couple leads the bound soul beyond mortality and time-bound suffering toward moksha.

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

These epithets are saguna names used for upāsanā: the devotee worships the Linga as Kālāgnirudra and Kālari—Shiva present in an auspicious form—while understanding that His true nature is ananta, beyond time and limitation.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Japa and dhyāna on Shiva as Kālari/Kālāntaka together with Kālī as His Shakti—especially alongside Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya)—is implied as a time-transcending contemplation that weakens fear of death and strengthens liberation-oriented bhakti.