Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 5

शक्त्यादिसृष्टिनिरूपणम् / The Account of Creation Beginning with Śakti

Devanagari script

निवृत्तिपदमुत्पन्नं प्रतिष्ठापदतः क्रमात् । एवमुक्ता समासेन सृष्टिरीश्वरचोदिता

Transliteration

nivṛttipadamutpannaṃ pratiṣṭhāpadataḥ kramāt | evamuktā samāsena sṛṣṭirīśvaracoditā

Translation

Theo đúng thứ lớp, cảnh giới mang tên “Nivṛtti” phát sinh từ cảnh giới “Pratiṣṭhā”. Như vậy, nói tóm lược, sự sáng tạo này được tuyên thuyết là vận hành dưới sự thúc đẩy và quyền nhiếp trì của Đấng Chúa Tể (Īśvara).

Word by Word

• nivṛtti-padam: the nivṛtti-stage
• nivṛtti-padam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nivṛtti (प्रातिपदिक) + pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd: प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुषः: ‘निवृत्तेः पदम्’

• utpannam: arisen/produced
• utpannam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: utpanna (कृदन्त, √pad/पद्? actually √pad not; standard: utpanna from √pad?; better: utpanna from √pad?; accepted as √pad/पद् ‘to go’ with ut- prefix, क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative Singular; agrees with ‘nivṛtti-padam’

• pratiṣṭhā-padataḥ: from the pratiṣṭhā-stage
• pratiṣṭhā-padataḥ: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratiṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक) + pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुषः: ‘प्रतिष्ठायाः पदम्’ + पञ्चमी ‘from the pratiṣṭhā-stage’

• kramāt: in sequence/stepwise
• kramāt: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन); adverbial sense ‘in due order/stepwise’

• evam: thus
• evam: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), adverb (क्रियाविशेषण): ‘thus’

• uktā: said/expressed
• uktā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ukta (कृदन्त, √vac/वच् ‘to say’, क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; agrees with ‘sṛṣṭiḥ’

• samāsena: in brief/by summary
• samāsena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); adverbial ‘briefly/in summary’

• sṛṣṭiḥ: creation
• sṛṣṭiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• īśvara-coditā: impelled by the Lord
• īśvara-coditā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + codita (कृदन्त, √cud/चुद् ‘to impel’, क्त)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; तत्पुरुषः: ‘ईश्वरस्य चोदिता’ = impelled by the Lord; agrees with ‘sṛṣṭiḥ’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Cosmic Context

Cosmic Event: completion of emanation ladder; creation affirmed as īśvara-codita (governed by the Lord)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames creation as an ordered unfolding of states culminating toward nivṛtti—spiritual withdrawal—showing that liberation-oriented return is built into the cosmos and is ultimately governed by Pati (Īśvara/Shiva).

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

By stating that sṛṣṭi is īśvara-coditā, it supports Saguna Shiva worship (including Linga-upāsanā) as devotion to the Lord who establishes, sustains, and turns beings toward nivṛtti (release).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A practical takeaway is nivṛtti-oriented sādhana: japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and meditative withdrawal from sense-objects, offered to Shiva as the inner governor of the cosmic order.