Shloka 2

आभ्यन्तरध्यान-तत्त्वगणना-चतुर्व्यूहयोगः

Adhyaya 28

Devanagari script

तस्योपरि महादेवं निष्कलं सकलाकृतिम् कान्तार्धरूढदेहं च पूजयेद्ध्यानविद्यया

Transliteration

tasyopari mahādevaṃ niṣkalaṃ sakalākṛtim kāntārdharūḍhadehaṃ ca pūjayeddhyānavidyayā

Translation

وفوق ذلك اللِّينغا ينبغي أن تُقام عبادةُ المهاديفا بعِلم التأمّل—شيفا الذي هو نِشْكَلا (بلا أجزاء، متعالٍ) ومع ذلك هو سَكَلا (متجلٍّ في صورة)، وجسده قائمٌ كنصفِ محبوبته في اتحاد أردهناري لشيفا–شاكتي.

Word by Word

• tasya upari: above that (upon/over it)

• mahādevam: Mahādeva, the Great Lord (Pati)

• niṣkalam: without parts, attributeless, transcendent

• sakala-ākṛtim: having a manifest, formed appearance

• kāntā-ardha-rūḍha-deham: whose body is occupied/established as half by the beloved (Ardhanārī/Śiva-Śakti union)

• ca: and

• pūjayet: one should worship

• dhyāna-vidyayā: by the knowledge/discipline of meditation (dhyāna).

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva-puja/dhyana-vidhi to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Parvati

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It instructs that Linga-pūjā is completed not merely by external offerings but by dhyāna-vidyā—contemplating Shiva above/within the Linga as both the transcendent Pati (niṣkala) and the immanent, worship-accessible form (sakala).

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Shiva-tattva is presented as niṣkala (beyond parts, qualities, and limitation) while also sakala (capable of manifest form for grace), and as inseparable from Shakti—signified by the ‘half-beloved’ body (Ardhanārī), the unity through which bondage (pāśa) is dissolved for the pashu (soul).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

A dhyāna-based upāsanā: meditative worship during Linga-pūjā, aligning the practitioner’s awareness from the sakala icon to the niṣkala reality—an inner movement consistent with Pāśupata-oriented contemplation of Pati as the liberator.