Shloka 41
Devadāru (Dāruvana) Forest: The Delusion of Ritual Pride, the Liṅga Crisis, and the Teaching of Jñāna–Pāśupata Yoga
इत्युक्त्वोत्पाटयामास भगवान् भगनेत्रहा / नापश्यंस्तत्क्षणेनेशं केशवं लिङ्गमेव च
ityuktvotpāṭayāmāsa bhagavān bhaganetrahā / nāpaśyaṃstatkṣaṇeneśaṃ keśavaṃ liṅgameva ca
فلما قال ذلك، مزّق الربّ المبارك—بَهَغَنِتْرَهَا، قاتلُ عينِ بَهَغَا—الأمرَ في الحال؛ وفي تلك اللحظة بعينها لم يعودوا يرون لا السيّد كيشافا ولا شيئًا البتّة، ولم يبقَ إلا اللِّينغا.
Narrator (Purāṇic narration by Vyāsa/Sūta tradition), describing Śiva’s act and the immediate vision-state of the onlookers
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
By showing that personal forms (such as Keśava) can withdraw while the emblematic, formless-sign aspect (the Liṅga) remains, the verse points to a reality beyond changing appearances—hinting at the One Lord as the underlying, non-limited principle.
No explicit technique is taught in this line, but the sudden ‘only the Liṅga remained’ moment reflects a yogic motif: concentration on a single symbol (liṅga-dhyāna/ekāgratā) where distracting forms vanish and a singular object of contemplation dominates awareness.
It depicts a deliberate theological convergence: Keśava is present within the episode, yet the culminating vision is the Liṅga alone—suggesting not rivalry but a Purāṇic non-dual synthesis where Śiva’s Liṅga signifies the same supreme ground in which Viṣṇu’s form can appear and disappear.