Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 14

लिङ्गप्रतिष्ठा-माहात्म्यम् / The Greatness of Liṅga Installation

Devanagari script

तयोः संपूजनादेव स च सा च समर्चितौ । न तयोर्लिंगदेहत्वं विद्यते परमार्थतः

Transliteration

tayoḥ saṃpūjanādeva sa ca sā ca samarcitau | na tayorliṃgadehatvaṃ vidyate paramārthataḥ

Translation

ด้วยการบูชาทั้งสองพระองค์อย่างครบถ้วน พระองค์นั้น (ศิวะ) และพระนางนั้น (เทวี) ย่อมได้รับการสักการะพร้อมกัน แต่ในสัจจะสูงสุด ทั้งสองมิได้เป็น ‘กาย’ ของลึงค์โดยแท้

Word by Word

• तयोः: of those two
• तयोः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), द्विवचन

• संपूजनात्: from the worship (of them)
• संपूजनात्: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम्+पूज् (धातु) + अन (प्रत्यय) → संपूजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; भाववाचक कृदन्त-नाम (action noun)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Avadharana (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphasis)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• समर्चितौ: are worshipped
• समर्चितौ: Kriya (क्रिया/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+अर्च् (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय) → समर्चित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकाले क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग-द्विवचन-प्रथमा (agreeing with ‘सः’ and ‘सा’ as a pair); कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः (past participle: 'having been worshipped')

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेधार्थक निपात (negation)

• तयोः: of those two
• तयोः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), द्विवचन

• लिङ्गदेहत्वम्: the state of being a liṅga-body (identity as liṅga and body)
• लिङ्गदेहत्वम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग + देह + त्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (लिङ्गस्य देहत्वम् / लिङ्ग-देहत्वम्)

• विद्यते: exists, is found
• विद्यते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु) (अत्र ‘विद्यते’ = √विद्/विद् ‘to be found/known’ आत्मनेपद)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• परमार्थतः: in the ultimate sense
• परमार्थतः: Visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परमार्थ + तस् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त क्रियाविशेषण (ablatival adverb: 'in truth')

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Clarifies a siddhānta nuance: worship of liṅga and pīṭha honors Śiva and Śakti, yet the ultimate reality is not reducible to the material ‘body’ of the emblem—protecting transcendence while affirming immanence.

Significance: Guides pilgrims to avoid crude identity (stone = God as mere matter) while maintaining real presence through consecration and grace; fosters mature devotion and right understanding (samyag-jñāna).

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: teaching

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that sincere worship truly honours both the worshipper and the worshipped, while affirming that Shiva’s highest reality is beyond any material identification—even beyond the Liṅga as an object—pointing toward transcendence (paramārtha).

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

It validates Liṅga-pūjā as a powerful, legitimate Saguna support for devotion and concentration, but clarifies that the Supreme Shiva (Pati) is not literally confined to a physical form; the Liṅga functions as a sacred emblem and focal presence, not a limitation of the Infinite.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Perform complete Liṅga worship with reverence (saṃpūjana)—offering water, bilva, and mantra-japa (especially the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”)—while inwardly contemplating Shiva as beyond form and beyond all limiting identifications.