Shloka 28

Adhyaya 75: Nishkala–Sakala Shiva, Twofold Linga, and the Supremacy of Dhyana-Yajna

Devanagari script

स्वप्ने च विपुलान् भोगान् भुक्त्वा मर्त्यः सुखी भवेत् दुःखी च भोगं दुःखं च नानुभूतं विचारतः

Transliteration

svapne ca vipulān bhogān bhuktvā martyaḥ sukhī bhavet duḥkhī ca bhogaṃ duḥkhaṃ ca nānubhūtaṃ vicārataḥ

Translation

حتى في الحلم، إذا «تمتّع» الإنسان الفاني بلذّاتٍ وافرة قد يشعر بالسعادة؛ وكذلك قد يشعر بالحزن. غير أنّه عند التمييز الصحيح يُدرَك أنّ اللذّة والألم لم يُختبَرا حقّاً—إنهما إسقاطٌ من الذهن، لا حقيقةُ الـPati (الربّ) المتعالي عن كلّ تبدّل.

Word by Word

• स्वप्ने: in a dream

• च: and

• विपुलान्: abundant, extensive

• भोगान्: enjoyments, sense-pleasures

• भुक्त्वा: having experienced/consumed

• मर्त्यः: a mortal, embodied being (pashu)

• सुखी: happy

• भवेत्: may become

• दुःखी: sorrowful

• च: and

• भोगम्: enjoyment/experience

• दुःखम्: pain/suffering

• च: and

• न: not

• अनुभूतम्: truly experienced, realized as fact

• विचारतः: upon reflection/discrimination (viveka)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the teaching context to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It builds vairagya and viveka: just as dream-pleasures and pains are mentally constructed, worldly bhoga is also unstable; Linga worship is directed to the changeless Pati (Shiva) rather than fleeting experiences.

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

By contrast: pleasures and pains arise in the mind of the pashu and dissolve on inquiry, while Shiva-tattva is the steady reality beyond mental modification—witnessing but untouched by bhoga and duḥkha.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Viveka (discriminative inquiry) as a core Pashupata-Yogic discipline—using reflection to loosen pasha (bondage) created by identification with experiences.