Shloka 74

न्यासवर्णनम् (Nyāsa-varṇanam) — Description of Nyāsa in the Saṃnyāsa Procedure

Devanagari script

कीर्तितास्ताः कलाश्चैव पादयोरपि हस्तयोः । प्राणे शिरसि बाह्वोश्च कल्पयेत्कल्पवित्तमः

Transliteration

kīrtitāstāḥ kalāścaiva pādayorapi hastayoḥ | prāṇe śirasi bāhvośca kalpayetkalpavittamaḥ

Translation

如是，通晓仪轨观修的智者行者，应当也将这些神圣的卡拉（kalā）于足与手中作意安置，并同样安置于普拉那（prāṇa，生命气息）、于头顶以及于双臂之中。

Word by Word

• kīrtitāḥ: mentioned/declared
• kīrtitāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kīrtita (कृदन्त; √kīrt ‘to mention/praise’)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Feminine, Nominative (1st), Plural; agreeing with kalāḥ

• tāḥ: those
• tāḥ: Anuvāda/Pratipādya (अनुवाद; referent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Feminine, Nominative, Plural; refers to kalāḥ

• kalāḥ: kalās/parts
• kalāḥ: Karma (कर्म; object of kalpayet)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण; emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निपात)

• pādayoḥ: in the two feet
• pādayoḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण; location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th) or Genitive (6th), Dual; here Locative sense ‘in/on the two feet’

• api: also
• api: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle ‘also’

• hastayoḥ: in the two hands
• hastayoḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th) or Genitive (6th), Dual; here Locative sense ‘in the two hands’

• prāṇe: in the vital breath
• prāṇe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th), Singular

• śirasi: in the head
• śirasi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular

• bāhvoḥ: in the two arms
• bāhvoḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th) or Genitive (6th), Dual; here Locative sense ‘in the two arms’

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• kalpayet: should assign/place
• kalpayet: Kriyā (क्रिया; main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kḷp (धाातु)
• Form: Vidhi-liṅ (optative), 3rd person, Singular; from √kḷp ‘to arrange/assign’

• kalpa-vittamaḥ: the best knower of ritual procedure
• kalpa-vittamaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa + vittama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; ‘best knower of ritual procedure (kalpa)’

Speaker

Lord Shiva (teaching the method of internal installation/nyāsa as a yogic-ritual discipline)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Sadyojāta

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that the body is to be treated as a temple of Shiva: by installing the divine kalās in limbs, breath, and head, the seeker purifies the pashu-nature and aligns the inner being toward Pati (Shiva), supporting liberation.

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

This is an inner form of Saguna worship: instead of placing offerings only externally to the Linga, one performs mental installation (nyāsa) so the limbs and prāṇa become sanctified as Shiva’s manifest presence, deepening devotion and concentration.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Anga-nyāsa/karanyāsa-like visualization: place the mantra’s energies (kalās) in hands, feet, arms, head, and especially in prāṇa, then continue japa and dhyāna—often paired in Shaiva practice with vibhūti (tripuṇḍra) and rudrākṣa as supportive disciplines.