Shloka 5

Adhyaya 17: लिङ्गोद्भव—ब्रह्मविष्ण्वहङ्कार-शमनं, ओंकार-प्रादुर्भावः, मन्त्र-तत्त्वं च

Devanagari script

किं लिङ्गं कस् तथा लिङ्गी सो ऽप्याह च पितामहः पितामह उवाच प्रधानं लिङ्गमाख्यातं लिङ्गी च परमेश्वरः

Transliteration

kiṃ liṅgaṃ kas tathā liṅgī so 'pyāha ca pitāmahaḥ pitāmaha uvāca pradhānaṃ liṅgamākhyātaṃ liṅgī ca parameśvaraḥ

Translation

Man fragte: „Was ist der Liṅga, und wer ist der Liṅgī (der Träger des Liṅga)?“ Pitāmaha (Brahmā) erwiderte: „Pradhāna — die uranfängliche Matrix der Natur — wird als Liṅga verkündet; und der Liṅgī ist Parameśvara, der höchste Herr (Pati), der ihn überragt und über ihn gebietet.“

Word by Word

• किम्: what?

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga, sign/mark (here: cosmic principle-symbol)

• कः: who?

• तथा: and/likewise

• लिङ्गी: the possessor/bearer of the liṅga

• सोऽपि: he also

• आह: said

• च: and

• पितामहः: Pitāmaha (Brahmā)

• पितामह उवाच: Brahmā said

• प्रधानम्: Pradhāna, primordial Nature (root prakṛti)

• लिङ्गम् आख्यातम्: is declared/expounded as the liṅga

• लिङ्गी च: and the liṅgī

• परमेश्वरः: Parameśvara, the Supreme Lord (Śiva as Pati)

Speaker

Brahma (Pitamaha)

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Shiva
• Parameshvara
• Pradhana

FAQs

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

It frames the Liṅga not merely as a ritual icon but as a metaphysical symbol: Pradhāna (root Nature) is the ‘Liṅga’ (the manifesting sign), while Śiva as Parameśvara is the Liṅgī—the transcendent Pati who presides over and reveals creation.

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

Śiva is identified as Parameśvara, distinct from and superior to Pradhāna (prakṛti). This establishes Shiva-tattva as the supreme conscious Lord (Pati), not reducible to material causality, and the controller of the cosmic matrix.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse primarily teaches tattva-viveka (discernment): in Liṅga-pūjā and Pāśupata contemplation, the sādhaka meditates on the Liṅga as the sign of manifested Nature while realizing the Liṅgī—Śiva—as the liberating Pati beyond pasha (bondage).