Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 17

रुद्राविर्भावकारणम् — Causes and Pattern of Rudra’s Manifestation

Pratikalpa

Devanagari script

नमस्ते देवदेवेश मास्राक्षीरीदृशीः प्रजाः । अन्याः सृज त्वं भद्रं ते प्रजा मृत्युसमन्विताः

Transliteration

namaste devadeveśa māsrākṣīrīdṛśīḥ prajāḥ | anyāḥ sṛja tvaṃ bhadraṃ te prajā mṛtyusamanvitāḥ

Translation

اے دیوتاؤں کے دیوتا، آپ کو نمسکار۔ ایسی پرجا کی سृष्टی نہ کیجیے۔ آپ کی خیر ہو—موت کے ساتھ وابستہ، یعنی فانی، دوسری مخلوق پیدا کیجیے۔

Word by Word

• namaḥ: salutation; homage
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), interjection/particle used in salutation (नमः-प्रयोगः)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन)

• deva-deva-īśa: O Lord of the gods
• deva-deva-īśa: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: deva-deva (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + īśa (सम्बन्ध)

• mā: do not
• mā: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mā (अव्यय)
• Form: Prohibitive particle (निषेधार्थक-अव्यय) used with imperative

• asrākṣīḥ: you created
• asrākṣīḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sṛj (धातु)
• Form: Aorist (लुङ्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद); augment a-; from √sṛj ‘to create’

• īdṛśīḥ: such (of this kind)
• īdṛśīḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īdṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• prajāḥ: creatures; beings
• prajāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• anyāḥ: other
• anyāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• sṛja: create
• sṛja: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sṛj (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhadram: good fortune; auspiciousness
• bhadram: Āśīḥ/Beneditction (आशीः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhadra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); used as benedictive ‘good (be)’

• te: for you / of you
• te: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• prajāḥ: creatures
• prajāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• mṛtyu-samanvitāḥ: accompanied by death; mortal
• mṛtyu-samanvitāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (कृदन्त, √anv-i/अन्वि ‘to accompany’ with सम्-)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); tatpuruṣa: mṛtyunā samanvitāḥ (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष, ‘endowed with death’)

Speaker

Brahma

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: नमस्ते देवदेवेश

Type: stotra

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: institution of mortal creation (mṛtyu-samanvita prajā) as a condition for embodied worlds

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Brahma

FAQs

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

It highlights that embodied creation is meant to be mortal and karma-bound, so that souls (paśu) mature through experience and can ultimately seek liberation (moksha) by turning toward Pati, Lord Shiva.

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

By emphasizing mortality, the verse points seekers toward a stable refuge beyond death—Saguna Shiva worship (including Linga-upasana) as a compassionate, accessible focus for devotion that leads the soul toward the transcendent Lord.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on death (mṛtyu-smaraṇa) to weaken attachment, and pair it with Shiva-bhakti—japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and reverent Linga worship—seeking freedom from bondage.