Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 41

पाशुपतज्ञानप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Pāśupata Knowledge

Paśu–Pāśa–Paśupati

Devanagari script

कालाग्न्यादिशिवांतानि भुवनानि सहाधिपैः । ब्रह्मांडान्यप्यसंख्यानि तेषामावरणानि च

Transliteration

kālāgnyādiśivāṃtāni bhuvanāni sahādhipaiḥ | brahmāṃḍānyapyasaṃkhyāni teṣāmāvaraṇāni ca

Translation

కాలాగ్ని మొదలుకొని శివాంతం వరకు లోకాలు తమ తమ అధిపతులతో సహా ఉన్నాయి. అసంఖ్య బ్రహ్మాండాలు, వాటి ఆవరణాలు కూడా అలాగే ఉన్నాయి।

Word by Word

• कालाग्न्यादिशिवान्तानि: beginning with Kālāgni etc. and ending with Śiva
• कालाग्न्यादिशिवान्तानि: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कालाग्नि + आदि + शिव + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (kālāgni-ādi ... śiva-anta) ‘ending with Śiva, beginning with Kālāgni etc.’

• भुवनानि: worlds
• भुवनानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahārtha (सहार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: सहार्थक अव्यय (preposition/adverb: ‘together with’)

• अधिपैः: with (their) rulers
• अधिपैः: Sahakāraka (सहकारक/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अधिप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• ब्रह्माण्डानि: cosmic eggs/universes
• ब्रह्माण्डानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्माण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (brahmaṇaḥ aṇḍam)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपेक्षाबोधक अव्यय (particle: also/even)

• असंख्यानि: countless
• असंख्यानि: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असंख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम-शब्द

• आवरणानि: enclosures/coverings
• आवरणानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आवरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Cosmological (brahmāṇḍa) teaching rather than a temple-origin account; mentions Kālāgni as dissolution-fire within the hierarchy of worlds culminating in Śiva.

Significance: Cultivates vairāgya and Śiva-niṣṭhā by contemplating innumerable universes and their coverings as finite within Śiva’s transcendence.

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: kalpa / pralaya implied via Kālāgni (time-fire)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Kālāgni

FAQs

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

It presents Śiva as the ultimate horizon of all levels of existence: worlds, their rulers, and even innumerable universes are finite structures within His sovereignty, pointing the seeker beyond cosmic magnitude toward liberation under Pati (Śiva).

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

By describing countless brahmāṇḍas and their coverings as encompassed within the divine order culminating in Śiva, the verse supports Saguna worship—such as Linga-upāsanā—as a concrete doorway to the transcendent Lord who surpasses all cosmic layers.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Contemplate the vastness of creation as contained in Śiva, then steady the mind in japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) while visualizing the Linga as the axis beyond all worlds, cultivating dispassion (vairāgya) and devotion (bhakti).