Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 46

मन्दरगिरिवर्णनम् — Description of Mount Mandara as Śiva’s Residence

Tapas-abode

Devanagari script

विहारोप्यावयोरस्य जगतस्त्राणकारणात् । ततस्तदर्थं त्वय्यद्य क्रीडोक्तिं कृतवाहनम्

Transliteration

vihāropyāvayorasya jagatastrāṇakāraṇāt | tatastadarthaṃ tvayyadya krīḍoktiṃ kṛtavāhanam

Translation

اس جہان کی حفاظت کا سبب بن جانے سے ہماری کِھیل بھی خیر و برکت کا باعث ہو جاتی ہے۔ اسی مقصد کے لیے آج میں نے تمہیں وسیلہ بنا کر یہ کِھیل نما تدبیر قائم کی ہے۔

Word by Word

• vihāraḥ: sport; play
• vihāraḥ: Kartā (कर्ता) / topic-noun (contextual)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vihāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Ekavacana (sg)

• api: also; even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; sambhāvanā/samuccaya-nipāta (particle: also/even)

• āvayoḥ: of us two
• āvayoḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (pronoun); Dvivacana (dual); Ṣaṣṭhī (Gen, 6th) / Saptamī (Loc, 7th) dual form ‘āvayoḥ’ (here: genitive ‘of us two’)

• asya: of this
• asya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma; Puṃ/Napuṃ (masc/neut), Ṣaṣṭhī (Gen, 6th), Ekavacana (sg)

• jagataḥ: of the world
• jagataḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (neut), Ṣaṣṭhī (Gen, 6th), Ekavacana (sg)

• trāṇa-kāraṇāt: because of (being) the cause of protection
• trāṇa-kāraṇāt: Hetu (हेतु) / Apādāna (अपादान) (cause expressed by ablative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (neut), Pañcamī (Abl, 5th), Ekavacana (sg); समासः—तत्पुरुष (trāṇasya kāraṇam = cause of protection); ablative: ‘because of/from the cause’

• tataḥ: thereupon
• tataḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; kāla/krama-avyaya (then/thereupon)

• tad-artham: for that purpose
• tad-artham: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyayībhāva-samāsa; accusative-based adverbial: ‘for that purpose’

• tvayi: in you; with you
• tvayi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण) (in/with respect to you)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma; Saptamī (Loc, 7th), Ekavacana (sg)

• adya: today; now
• adya: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; kāla-avyaya (today/now)

• krīḍā-uktim: a playful remark
• krīḍā-uktim: Karma (कर्म) (object of implied verb like ‘karomi/vadāmi’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krīḍā (प्रातिपदिक) + ukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (fem), Dvitīyā (Acc, 2nd), Ekavacana (sg); समासः—तत्पुरुष (krīḍāyāḥ uktiḥ = playful statement)

• kṛta-vāhanam: (something) made as a vehicle; prepared conveyance
• kṛta-vāhanam: Karma (कर्म) / Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) (contextual)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त, √kṛ धातु) + vāhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (neut), Dvitīyā (Acc, 2nd), Ekavacana (sg); कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त (PPP) ‘kṛta’; समासः—तत्पुरुष: ‘kṛta-vāhana’ = ‘having made (something) as a vehicle / having prepared the vehicle’; agrees with ‘krīḍā-uktim’ only if taken as apposition to an implied neuter object; text may be context-dependent

Speaker

Lord Shiva

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Umāpati

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It presents Shiva’s līlā as purposeful: even what appears as divine “play” serves jagat-trāṇa (the safeguarding of the cosmos). In Shaiva Siddhanta terms, the Pati (Shiva) acts out of grace to protect and guide bound souls toward liberation.

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

By showing Shiva’s intentional, compassionate action in the world, the verse supports Saguna-upāsanā—worship of Shiva with attributes and activity. Linga worship similarly trains the devotee to see Shiva as both transcendent and actively bestowing protection and grace.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A key takeaway is śaraṇāgati (surrender): meditate while repeating the Panchakshara mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” offering one’s agency to Shiva as the true doer, and performing worship (with bhasma and rudrākṣa if customary) with the intent of aligning with Shiva’s protective will.