Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 5

शिवसंस्कार-दीक्षानिरूपणम् (Śivasaṃskāra and the Typology of Dīkṣā)

Devanagari script

दीयते येन विज्ञानं क्षीयते पाशबंधनम् । तस्मात्संस्कार एवायं दीक्षेत्यपि च कथ्यते

Transliteration

dīyate yena vijñānaṃ kṣīyate pāśabaṃdhanam | tasmātsaṃskāra evāyaṃ dīkṣetyapi ca kathyate

Translation

Apa yang dengannya pengetahuan rohani sejati dianugerahkan dan ikatan pāśa (belenggu) dikurangkan—maka kerana itu, saṃskāra yang suci ini juga disebut “dīkṣā” (inisiasi).

Word by Word

• dīyate: is given
• dīyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (Present), Prathama puruṣa, Ekavacana; Ātmanepada, Karmaṇi prayoga (passive)

• yena: by which
• yena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/Napuṃsaka (contextual), Tṛtīyā vibhakti (Instrumental/करण), Ekavacana; relative pronoun

• vijñānam: knowledge, realization
• vijñānam: Kartā (कर्ता; in passive, logical object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vijñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā/Dvitīyā vibhakti (Nom/Acc), Ekavacana; here as subject of passive ‘is given’

• kṣīyate: perishes, diminishes
• kṣīyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṣī (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (Present), Prathama puruṣa, Ekavacana; Ātmanepada (intransitive)

• pāśabandhanam: bondage of the noose (bondage)
• pāśabandhanam: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + bandhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/कर्ता), Ekavacana; Ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa ‘pāśasya bandhanam’

• tasmāt: therefore, from that
• tasmāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/Napuṃsaka, Pañcamī vibhakti (Ablative/अपादान), Ekavacana

• saṃskāraḥ: sacrament, rite
• saṃskāraḥ: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃskāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana

• eva: indeed, only
• eva: Sambandha-dyotaka (सम्बन्ध/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निपात)

• ayam: this
• ayam: Kartā (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana

• dīkṣā: initiation (dīkṣā)
• dīkṣā: Pratipādya (प्रातिपाद्य; naming/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīkṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; quoted name in apposition

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyārtha-dyotaka (वाक्यार्थद्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle

• api: also
• api: Sambandha-dyotaka (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) meaning ‘also/even’

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya-dyotaka (समुच्चयद्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय)

• kathyate: is called, is said
• kathyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kath (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (Present), Prathama puruṣa, Ekavacana; Ātmanepada, Karmaṇi prayoga (passive)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It defines dīkṣā as the Shaiva sacrament that transmits liberating knowledge and weakens pāśa (bondage), moving the soul (paśu) toward Shiva (Pati) and moksha.

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

In the Shiva Purana’s Shaiva framework, dīkṣā authorizes and empowers disciplined worship—such as Linga-pūjā and mantra-japa—so that external devotion becomes an inner awakening that cuts bondage.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It points to receiving proper guru-given dīkṣā (mantra initiation) and then sustaining practice through mantra-japa and Shiva-upāsanā, aimed at reducing pāśa and establishing steady spiritual insight.