Shloka 23

प्रसाद-ज्ञान-योग-मोक्षक्रमः तथा व्यास-रुद्रावतार-मन्वन्तर-परम्परा

Devanagari script

रोमहर्षण उवाच मनुः स्वायम्भुवस्त्वाद्यस् ततः स्वारोचिषो द्विजाः उत्तमस्तामसश्चैव रैवताश्चाक्षुषस् तथा

Transliteration

romaharṣaṇa uvāca manuḥ svāyambhuvastvādyas tataḥ svārociṣo dvijāḥ uttamastāmasaścaiva raivatāścākṣuṣas tathā

Translation

قال رومهَرْشَنَة: «أولُ المَنُو هو سْفايَمْبُهُوَا؛ وبعده، يا أيها الحكماءُ ثنائيو الميلاد، يأتي سْفاروتشِصَة. ثم يليه أُتَّمَة، وتامَسَة، ورَيْوَتَة، وكذلك تشاكْشُصَة».

Word by Word

• रोमहर्षणः: Romaharṣaṇa (Sūta)

• उवाच: said

• मनुः: Manu (progenitor/law-giver of a cosmic age)

• स्वायम्भुवः: Svāyambhuva (self-born/primeval Manu)

• तु: indeed

• आद्यः: first

• ततः: thereafter

• स्वारोचिषः: Svārociṣa (second Manu)

• द्विजाः: twice-born (brāhmaṇas/sages)

• उत्तमः: Uttama (third Manu)

• तामसः: Tāmasa (fourth Manu)

• च एव: and indeed

• रैवतः: Raivata (fifth Manu)

• चाक्षुषः: Cākṣuṣa (sixth Manu)

• तथा: likewise/also

Speaker

Romaharṣaṇa (Sūta)

Characters & Entities

• Romaharṣaṇa
• Svāyambhuva Manu
• Svārociṣa Manu
• Uttama Manu
• Tāmasa Manu
• Raivata Manu
• Cākṣuṣa Manu

FAQs

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

It situates Linga-Purana’s Shaiva teaching within the cosmic cycles (manvantaras), showing that Shiva’s order (niyati) and Dharma operate through successive Manus, within which Linga-dharma and Shiva-bhakti are preserved.

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

Indirectly, it points to Shiva as Pati—the transcendent regulator of time and cosmic administration—while Manus govern epochs for the guidance of pashus (souls) bound by pasha (karmic limitation).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific puja-vidhi or Pāśupata-yoga technique is stated here; the verse functions as cosmological framing for later Shaiva disciplines and Linga-based worship within each manvantara.