Shloka 12

विष्णुरुवाच—एकाक्षर-प्रणव-लिङ्ग-व्याप्ति-शिवस्तोत्रम्

Devanagari script

अचेतनाय चिन्त्याय चेतनायासहारिणे अरूपाय सुरूपाय अनङ्गायाङ्गहारिणे

Transliteration

acetanāya cintyāya cetanāyāsahāriṇe arūpāya surūpāya anaṅgāyāṅgahāriṇe

Translation

Verehrung Śiva—der das Unbewusste übersteigt und doch selbst vom Unbewussten erdacht wird; der das ahaṃkāra, das Gefühl des „Ich“, bei den Bewussten fortnimmt. Verehrung dem Formlosen, der Ursprung aller schönen Formen; dem Körperlosen, der alle Verkörperung in sich zurücknimmt.

Word by Word

• अचेतनाय: to the One beyond (and untouched by) insentience

• चिन्त्याय: to the One who is to be contemplated/meditated upon

• चेतनाया-स-हारिणे: to the One who takes away/dispels (स-हारिणे) the sense of consciousness/ego in the individual (चेतनाया)

• अरूपाय: to the formless One

• सुरूपाय: to the One of auspicious/beautiful form (source of all forms)

• अनङ्गाय: to the bodiless One

• अङ्गहारिणे: to the One who removes/withdraws limbs and embodiedness (the bodily condition)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating a hymn within the Purva-Bhaga context)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames Linga-worship as meditation on the formless Pati who nevertheless manifests all forms—teaching that the Linga points beyond body and name while granting auspicious presence for devotion.

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

Śiva is presented as transcendent (arūpa, anaṅga) and immanent (surūpa), the Lord who dissolves the pashu’s egoic “I-am-conscious” claim, thereby loosening pasha (bondage) and revealing pure awareness.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

A contemplative Pāśupata-oriented practice: meditating on Śiva as the object of thought (cintyāya) while relinquishing bodily identification and ego-consciousness—supporting both japa-stuti and inner dhyāna in Linga-pūjā.