Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 5

शक्त्यादिसृष्टिनिरूपणम् / The Account of Creation Beginning with Śakti

Devanagari script

निवृत्तिपदमुत्पन्नं प्रतिष्ठापदतः क्रमात् । एवमुक्ता समासेन सृष्टिरीश्वरचोदिता

Transliteration

nivṛttipadamutpannaṃ pratiṣṭhāpadataḥ kramāt | evamuktā samāsena sṛṣṭirīśvaracoditā

Translation

प्रतिष्ठा-पदापासून क्रमाने ‘निवृत्ती’ नावाचे पद उत्पन्न झाले. अशा रीतीने संक्षेपाने सांगितले की ही सृष्टी ईश्वराच्या प्रेरणेने व अधिपत्याने चालते.

Word by Word

• nivṛtti-padam: the nivṛtti-stage
• nivṛtti-padam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nivṛtti (प्रातिपदिक) + pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd: प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुषः: ‘निवृत्तेः पदम्’

• utpannam: arisen/produced
• utpannam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: utpanna (कृदन्त, √pad/पद्? actually √pad not; standard: utpanna from √pad?; better: utpanna from √pad?; accepted as √pad/पद् ‘to go’ with ut- prefix, क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative Singular; agrees with ‘nivṛtti-padam’

• pratiṣṭhā-padataḥ: from the pratiṣṭhā-stage
• pratiṣṭhā-padataḥ: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratiṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक) + pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुषः: ‘प्रतिष्ठायाः पदम्’ + पञ्चमी ‘from the pratiṣṭhā-stage’

• kramāt: in sequence/stepwise
• kramāt: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); adverbial sense ‘in due order/stepwise’

• evam: thus
• evam: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण): ‘thus’

• uktā: said/expressed
• uktā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ukta (कृदन्त, √vac/वच् ‘to say’, क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; agrees with ‘sṛṣṭiḥ’

• samāsena: in brief/by summary
• samāsena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); adverbial ‘briefly/in summary’

• sṛṣṭiḥ: creation
• sṛṣṭiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• īśvara-coditā: impelled by the Lord
• īśvara-coditā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + codita (कृदन्त, √cud/चुद् ‘to impel’, क्त)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; तत्पुरुषः: ‘ईश्वरस्य चोदिता’ = impelled by the Lord; agrees with ‘sṛṣṭiḥ’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: completion of emanation ladder; creation affirmed as īśvara-codita (governed by the Lord)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames creation as an ordered unfolding of states culminating toward nivṛtti—spiritual withdrawal—showing that liberation-oriented return is built into the cosmos and is ultimately governed by Pati (Īśvara/Shiva).

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

By stating that sṛṣṭi is īśvara-coditā, it supports Saguna Shiva worship (including Linga-upāsanā) as devotion to the Lord who establishes, sustains, and turns beings toward nivṛtti (release).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is nivṛtti-oriented sādhana: japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and meditative withdrawal from sense-objects, offered to Shiva as the inner governor of the cosmic order.