Shloka 1

अविद्या-पञ्चक, नवसर्ग-क्रमः, प्रजापति-प्रसवः

Vibhaga 1, Adhyaya 5

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच यदा स्रष्टुं मतिं चक्रे मोहश्चासीन्महात्मनः द्विजाश् च बुद्धिपूर्वं तु ब्रह्मणो ऽव्यक्तजन्मनः

Transliteration

sūta uvāca yadā sraṣṭuṃ matiṃ cakre mohaścāsīnmahātmanaḥ dvijāś ca buddhipūrvaṃ tu brahmaṇo 'vyaktajanmanaḥ

Translation

قال سوتا: لما عزم براهما عظيمُ النفس—المنبثق من غير المتجلّي (الأفيَكتا)—على بدء الخلق، ارتفع حجابٌ من الوهم؛ فشرع الدويجا (ذوو الميلادين)، بهداية البصيرة، في تلمّس قصد الخالق.

Word by Word

• सूत उवाच: Sūta said

• यदा: when

• स्रष्टुम्: to create

• मतिम्: intention, resolve

• चक्रे: he made/formed

• मोहः: delusion, obscuration

• च: and

• आसीत्: arose/was

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled one

• द्विजाः: twice-born (sages/brāhmaṇas)

• च: and

• बुद्धिपूर्वम्: with intelligence first, thoughtfully

• तु: indeed

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā

• अव्यक्तजन्मनः: whose birth/origin is from the Unmanifest (avyakta).

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Dvijas (Sages)

FAQs

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

It frames creation as beginning under a veil of moha, implying that the true source (Pati—Śiva, later revealed through the Linga principle) stands beyond avyakta and guides the removal of obscuration so creation and worship can be properly oriented.

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

By highlighting Brahmā’s avyakta-origin and the arising of moha, it implicitly points to a higher, unobscured principle—Pati—who is not bound by pasha (delusion) and is the ultimate ground later expressed as the Linga-tattva.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

A direct ritual is not described, but the verse foregrounds moha as pasha (bondage); in Pāśupata Yoga the key practice is viveka (discriminative insight) to pierce obscuration—mirrored here by the dvijas acting with buddhi-pūrva (prior discernment).