Shloka 23

Devīkṛta-praśna-varṇana (Description of the Goddess’s Questions) / देवीकृतप्रश्नवर्णनम्

Devanagari script

देवताः कति च प्रोक्ताः कथं वेदादिभावना । क्रियाः कतिविधाः प्रोक्ता व्याप्यव्यापकता कथम्

Transliteration

devatāḥ kati ca proktāḥ kathaṃ vedādibhāvanā | kriyāḥ katividhāḥ proktā vyāpyavyāpakatā katham

Translation

«Сколько божеств провозглашено в предании? Как следует понимать созерцание Вед и связанных с ними писаний? Скольких видов ритуальные действия (крийя) изложены? И как объяснить учение о “пронизанном” и о “всепронизывающем”?»

Word by Word

• devatāḥ: deities
• devatāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• kati: how many
• kati: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kati (प्रश्न-संख्यावाचक, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्राय प्रश्नविशेषण; बहुवचनार्थे, प्रथमा (1st) स्त्रीलिङ्गानुगुण (devatāḥ)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• proktāḥ: are said/declared
• proktāḥ: Kriya (क्रिया/predicate; passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√vac (वच्, धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे ‘(ते) प्रोक्ताः’

• katham: how
• katham: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• veda-ādi-bhāvanā: the conception/teaching of the Vedas etc.
• veda-ādi-bhāvanā: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāvanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (veda-ādi = ‘वेदादि’ as qualifier) + कर्मधारय-भाव: ‘वेदादि-भूता/वेदादि-विषयिणी भावना’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• kriyāḥ: actions/rites
• kriyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• kati-vidhāḥ: of how many types
• kati-vidhāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kati (प्रातिपदिक) + vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: ‘कति विधाः’ (of how many kinds); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (kriyāḥ इत्यस्य विशेषणरूपेण)

• proktāḥ: are declared
• proktāḥ: Kriya (क्रिया/predicate; passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√vac (वच्, धातु)
• Form: क्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे

• vyāpya-vyāpakatā: the relation of pervaded-and-pervader (immanence)
• vyāpya-vyāpakatā: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāpya (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + vyāpaka (प्रातिपदिक) + -tā (तद्धित)
• Form: द्वन्द्व (itaretara): ‘व्याप्य’ (pervaded) + ‘व्यापक’ (pervader) + ता-प्रत्यय; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• katham: how
• katham: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय

Speaker

Sanatkumara (inferred, Kailasa Saṃhitā philosophical dialogue style)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: Doctrinal verse: establishes categories (devatā, veda-bhāvanā, kriyā-bheda, vyāpya-vyāpaka) that guide correct worship and liberation.

FAQs

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

This verse frames a Shaiva philosophical inquiry: it asks how to understand divinity, scripture-based contemplation, disciplined action (kriyā), and the key metaphysical relation between the pervaded world (vyāpya) and the all-pervading Lord (vyāpaka)—a foundation for grasping Pati (Shiva) as immanent and transcendent.

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

By asking about vyāpya–vyāpaka, the verse supports Saguna worship (such as the Śiva-liṅga) as a valid focus for devotion and contemplation: the visible form is within the pervaded realm, while Shiva as vyāpaka is present in and beyond it, making ritual worship a doorway to realizing the all-pervading Lord.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The verse points to a balanced Shaiva discipline: scriptural contemplation (veda-ādi-bhāvanā) alongside kriyā (ritual action). Practically, this aligns with daily Shiva-upāsanā such as japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), meditation on Shiva’s pervasiveness, and performance of prescribed Shaiva rites with purity and devotion.