Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 3

शिवस्य परापरब्रह्मस्वरूपनिर्णयः / Determination of Śiva as Higher and Lower Brahman

Devanagari script

अपरं ब्रह्मरूपं च परं ब्रह्मात्मकं तथा । केचिदाहुर्महादेवमनादिनिधनं परम्

Transliteration

aparaṃ brahmarūpaṃ ca paraṃ brahmātmakaṃ tathā | kecidāhurmahādevamanādinidhanaṃ param

Translation

บางท่านกล่าวว่ามหาเทพเป็นทั้งพรหมันระดับรอง และเป็นพรหมันสูงสุดโดยแท้ พระองค์คือความจริงสูงสุด ไร้จุดเริ่มและไร้จุดจบ.

Word by Word

• अपरम्: lower/other
• अपरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• ब्रह्म-रूपम्: the form of Brahman
• ब्रह्म-रूपम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मणः रूपम्)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• परम्: higher/supreme
• परम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• ब्रह्म-आत्मकम्: having Brahman as its essence
• ब्रह्म-आत्मकम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्म आत्मा यस्य/ब्रह्मस्वरूपम्)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshana (क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: ‘likewise/so’)

• केचित्: some (people)
• केचित्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + चित् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1 विभक्ति), बहुवचन; अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun: ‘some’)

• आहुः: say
• आहुः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• महादेवम्: Mahādeva
• महादेवम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘महान् देवः’)

• अनादि-निधनम्: without beginning and without end
• अनादि-निधनम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनादि (प्रातिपदिक) + निधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; द्वन्द्वः (न आदि: न च निधनम्)

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Vāyavīya philosophical teaching to the sages)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It affirms Śiva as both the accessible manifest divinity and the transcendent Supreme—beginningless and endless—so devotion (to the form) and realization (of the formless) converge in Him.

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

By calling Mahādeva both ‘apara’ and ‘para’ Brahman, the text supports Liṅga/Saguṇa worship as a valid doorway to the same supreme, formless Reality (Para Brahman) that the Liṅga signifies.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on Śiva as anādinidhana (without beginning or end) while repeating the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—using the Liṅga as the contemplative support for the Supreme.