Shloka 76

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

Devanagari script

अष्टत्रिंशत्कलान्यासमेवं कृत्वा तु सर्वशः । पश्चात्प्रणवविद्धीमान्प्रणवन्यासमाचरेत् । बाहुद्वये कूर्परयोस्तथा च मणिबन्धयोः । पार्श्वतोदरजंघेषु पादयोः पृष्ठतस्तथा

Transliteration

aṣṭatriṃśatkalānyāsamevaṃ kṛtvā tu sarvaśaḥ | paścātpraṇavaviddhīmānpraṇavanyāsamācaret | bāhudvaye kūrparayostathā ca maṇibandhayoḥ | pārśvatodarajaṃgheṣu pādayoḥ pṛṣṭhatastathā

Translation

เมื่อทำกาลานยาสะแห่งกะลาสามสิบแปดประการโดยครบถ้วนแล้ว ต่อไปผู้รู้กฎแห่งปรณวะพึงทำปรณวนยาสะ (โอม) โดยนยาสะไว้ที่แขนทั้งสอง ที่ข้อศอก และที่ข้อมือ ที่สีข้าง ที่ท้อง ที่ต้นขา ที่เท้า และที่แผ่นหลังด้วย

Word by Word

• aṣṭā-triṃśat-kalā-nyāsam: the placing/nyāsa of thirty-eight kalās
• aṣṭā-triṃśat-kalā-nyāsam: Karma (कर्म; object of kṛtvā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭātriṃśat + kalā + nyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; ‘nyāsa of thirty-eight kalās’ (numeral + noun + action-noun)

• evaṃ: thus
• evaṃ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evaṃ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय) ‘thus/in this manner’

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण; prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धाातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), from √kṛ ‘to do’

• tu: then/but
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्धसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) adversative/emphatic

• sarvaśaḥ: in every way
• sarvaśaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvaśas (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण) ‘entirely/in all respects’

• paścāt: afterwards
• paścāt: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण; time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paścāt (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb ‘afterwards’

• praṇava-viddhī-mān: one skilled in the praṇava
• praṇava-viddhī-mān: Karta (कर्ता; agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: praṇava + viddhīmat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; ‘one who is endowed with (knowledge of) praṇava’ (praṇava-qualified viddhīmat)

• praṇava-nyāsam: the praṇava-nyāsa
• praṇava-nyāsam: Karma (कर्म; object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: praṇava + nyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; ‘nyāsa of praṇava’

• ācaret: should perform
• ācaret: Kriyā (क्रिया; main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: car (धाातु)
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (optative), 3rd person, Singular; with prefix ā-; ‘should perform/practice’

• bāhu-dvaye: in the two arms
• bāhu-dvaye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण; location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāhu + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular; ‘in the pair of arms’

• kūrparayoḥ: in the two elbows
• kūrparayoḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūrpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th) or Genitive (6th), Dual; here Locative sense ‘in the two elbows’

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb ‘likewise/so’

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

• maṇi-bandhayoḥ: in the two wrists
• maṇi-bandhayoḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇi-bandha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th) or Genitive (6th), Dual; here Locative sense ‘in the two wrists’ (lit. ‘jewel-bindings’)

• pārśvata-udara-jaṃgheṣu: in the sides, belly, and shanks
• pārśvata-udara-jaṃgheṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārśvata + udara + jaṃghā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (collective/locative plural usage), Locative (7th), Plural; enumeration ‘in the sides, belly, and shanks’

• pādayoḥ: in the two feet
• pādayoḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th) or Genitive (6th), Dual; here Locative sense ‘in the two feet’

• pṛṣṭhatas: at the back/behind
• pṛṣṭhatas: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (देशाधिकरण; spatial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pṛṣṭhatas (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (directional) ‘from behind/at the back’

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb ‘likewise’

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Śaiva ritual procedure to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya, as typical of Purāṇic transmission)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Īśāna

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: oṃ (praṇava)

Type: gayatri

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

The verse teaches bodily sanctification through nyāsa: the sādhaka maps Śiva’s śakti (kalās) and the Praṇava onto the body, turning the embodied “paśu” into a fit vessel for Śiva-upāsanā and inner stillness, aligned with Shaiva Siddhānta’s purification (śuddhi) before realization.

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

Nyāsa prepares the worshipper to approach Saguna Śiva—often as the Liṅga—by consecrating limbs with mantra-power, so external Liṅga-pūjā is mirrored by internalized worship where the body becomes a ritual field dedicated to Śiva.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It prescribes Praṇava (Oṃ) nyāsa after the thirty-eight-kalā nyāsa, placing Oṃ on specific limbs (arms, elbows, wrists, sides, belly, thighs, feet, and back) as a meditative consecration prior to mantra-japa and Śiva-pūjā.