Shloka 72

न्यासवर्णनम् (Nyāsa-varṇanam) — Description of Nyāsa in the Saṃnyāsa Procedure

Devanagari script

अघोरस्य कलाश्चाष्टौ पूजनीया यथाक्रमम् । पश्चात्त्रयोदशकलाः पायुमेढ्रोरुजानुषु

Transliteration

aghorasya kalāścāṣṭau pūjanīyā yathākramam | paścāttrayodaśakalāḥ pāyumeḍhrorujānuṣu

Translation

அதன்பின் அ஘ோரனுடைய எட்டு கலைகள் முறையாகப் பூஜிக்கப்பட வேண்டும். பின்னர் விதிப்படி பாயு, மேத்ரம், ஊருகள், முழங்கால்களில் பதிமூன்று கலைகளையும் பூஜிக்க வேண்டும்।

Word by Word

• aghorasya: of Aghora
• aghorasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (षष्ठी/Genitive), Ekavacana

• kalāḥ: digits/parts (kalās)
• kalāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative), Bahuvacana

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction

• aṣṭau: eight
• aṣṭau: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral; Puṃliṅga, Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative), Bahuvacana (used with kalāḥ)

• pūjanīyāḥ: to be worshipped
• pūjanīyāḥ: Vidheyaviśeṣaṇa (विधेयविशेषण/Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūj (धातु) + -anīya (कृत्, अनीयर्)
• Form: Kṛtya (कृत्य) gerundive; Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; ‘worthy to be worshipped’

• yathā-kramam: in proper sequence
• yathā-kramam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva (अव्ययीभाव) adverb; accusative-form used adverbially: ‘in due order’

• paścāt: afterwards
• paścāt: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paścāt (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb of time (कालवाचक)

• trayodaśa-kalāḥ: the thirteen kalās
• trayodaśa-kalāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trayodaśa (प्रातिपदिक, संख्या) + kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvigu (द्विगु) numerical compound; Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• pāyu-meḍhra-ūru-jānuṣu: in the anus, penis, thighs, and knees
• pāyu-meḍhra-ūru-jānuṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + meḍhra (प्रातिपदिक) + ūru (प्रातिपदिक) + jānu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī vibhakti (Locative), Bahuvacana; dvandva of locations: ‘in anus, penis, thighs, and knees’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Āghoramūrti

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Kālī

Role: destructive

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Aghora

FAQs

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

It teaches a disciplined, sequential worship of Śiva’s manifested powers (kalās), indicating that spiritual ascent requires order, purity, and reverent integration of the body and consciousness as instruments of Śiva-sādhana.

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

The kalās of Aghora represent Saguna Śiva approached through specific, worship-worthy manifestations; such internalized worship parallels external Liṅga-pūjā by relocating devotion and consecration into the practitioner’s embodied field.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It points to kalā/anga-nyāsa—placing and worshipping mantric powers on designated bodily locations—performed with mantra, purity, and focused awareness as part of an inner Śaiva ritual.