Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 21

प्रणवविभागः—वेदस्वरूपत्वं लिङ्गे च प्रतिष्ठा

The Division of Oṃ, Its Vedic Forms, and Its Placement in the Liṅga

Devanagari script

तदूर्ध्वमुन्मना लोकाद्यं प्राप्तो न निवर्तते । शांतिं च शांत्यतीतां च व्यापिकां चै कलास्वपि

Transliteration

tadūrdhvamunmanā lokādyaṃ prāpto na nivartate | śāṃtiṃ ca śāṃtyatītāṃ ca vyāpikāṃ cai kalāsvapi

Translation

再向上超越之时，安住于无心（unmanā）之心识抵达本初之境，不再回返。于彼处，它证得寂静——乃至超越寂静之寂静——遍满一切，并且亦存在于每一kalā（显现的层级/阶段）之中。

Word by Word

• tad: then/thereafter
• tad: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connecting)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), demonstrative particle used adverbially = 'then/thereafter'

• ūrdhvam: upwards
• ūrdhvam: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय) used as adverb; direction = 'upwards/above'

• unmanāḥ: one whose mind is transcended (mindless/absorbed)
• unmanāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: unmanas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Prathamā vibhakti (1st/Nominative), Ekavacana (singular); adjective used substantively

• lokāt: from the world
• lokāt: Apādāna (अपादान/source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Pañcamī vibhakti (5th/Ablative), Ekavacana; 'from the world'

• yam: which (that)
• yam: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masc), Dvitīyā vibhakti (2nd/Accusative), Ekavacana; relative pronoun referring to a state/realm

• prāptaḥ: having attained
• prāptaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/agent)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (आप्) + pra- (उपसर्ग) → prāpta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Kta (क्त) past passive participle; Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; used predicatively = 'having attained'

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध/negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (न)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), negation particle

• nivartate: returns/turns back
• nivartate: Kriyā (क्रिया/predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛt (वृत्) + ni- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: Laṭ lakāra (लट्/present), Prathama puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana; Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• śāntim: peace
• śāntim: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śānti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (fem), Dvitīyā vibhakti (2nd/Accusative), Ekavacana

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय/coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction (समुच्चय)

• śānti-atītām: beyond (ordinary) peace
• śānti-atītām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/modifier of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śānti (प्रातिपदिक) + atīta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound: śānteḥ atītā = 'beyond peace'; Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; qualifies śāntim (understood higher peace/state)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• vyāpikām: all-pervading
• vyāpikām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyāpikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; adjective qualifying (śāntiṃ/that state)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Niyama (नियम/emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (एव)
• Form: Avyaya, emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक)

• kalāsu: in the kalās (parts/phases/energies)
• kalāsu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Saptamī vibhakti (7th/Locative), Bahuvacana (plural)

• api: also/even
• api: Samuccaya (समुच्चय/additive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अपि)
• Form: Avyaya, particle meaning 'also/even'

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It describes the yogic ascent into unmanā—where ordinary mind-activity ceases—and affirms that realizing Shiva’s supreme, primordial state leads to non-return (freedom from rebirth) and to an all-pervading peace that transcends even the concept of peace.

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

In Shaiva teaching, worship of the Linga (Saguna support for devotion and concentration) matures the seeker’s awareness toward the Nirguna reality of Shiva. This verse points to that culmination: a state beyond mental constructs where the devotee abides in Shiva’s pervading presence.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It implies deep meditation leading to mind-transcendence (dhyāna/samādhi). Practically, a Shaiva may steady the mind with Panchakshara japa ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya"), Tripuṇḍra with bhasma, and Rudrāksha—then turn inward to the silent absorption indicated by unmanā.