Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 2
पञ्चाक्षर-षडक्षरमन्त्र-माहात्म्यम् | The Greatness of the Pañcākṣara/Ṣaḍakṣara Mantra
उपमन्युरुवाच । पञ्चाक्षरस्य माहात्म्यं वर्षकोटिशतैरपि । अशक्यं विस्तराद्वक्तुं तस्मात्संक्षेपतः शृणु
upamanyuruvāca | pañcākṣarasya māhātmyaṃ varṣakoṭiśatairapi | aśakyaṃ vistarādvaktuṃ tasmātsaṃkṣepataḥ śṛṇu
اُپمنیو نے کہا— پنچاکشر کی عظمت کو کروڑوں کروڑ برسوں میں بھی تفصیل سے بیان کرنا ممکن نہیں؛ اس لیے اسے اختصار سے سنو۔
Upamanyu
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Significance: Highlights the inexhaustibility of mantra-māhātmya; encourages repeated śravaṇa and sustained sādhana rather than one-time ‘completion’.
Type: panchakshara
Role: teaching
Cosmic Event: Hyperbolic time-span: ‘varṣa-koṭi-śataiḥ’ (hundreds of crores of years) indicating supra-cosmic magnitude.
FAQs
It establishes the Panchakshara (‘Namaḥ Śivāya’) as inexhaustible in power and meaning—so profound that even vast time cannot fully capture its glory—affirming mantra as a primary means to approach Pati (Śiva) and attain liberation.
The verse prepares the listener for concise instruction on the Panchakshara, a core mantra used in Saguna Śiva worship (including Linga-pūjā), where devotion and repetition of the Name become direct acts of reverence to Śiva.
Mantra-japa of the Panchakshara—steady repetition with devotion—implied as the practical takeaway, typically done alongside Shaiva disciplines such as purity, worship, and meditative remembrance of Śiva.