Shloka 4

Devanagari script

तुष्टाव वाग्भिर् इष्टाभिः प्रणम्य गरुडध्वजम् त्वमादिस्त्वमनादिश् च प्रकृतिस्त्वं जनार्दनः

Transliteration

tuṣṭāva vāgbhir iṣṭābhiḥ praṇamya garuḍadhvajam tvamādistvamanādiś ca prakṛtistvaṃ janārdanaḥ

Translation

Nachdem er sich vor dem Garuḍa-bannertragenden Janārdana verneigt hatte, pries er Ihn mit geliebten Worten: „Du bist der Erste und doch anfangslos; Du bist Prakṛti selbst, o Janārdana.“

Word by Word

• तुष्टाव: praised

• वाग्भिः: with words/speech

• इष्टाभिः: dear, desired, cherished

• प्रणम्य: having bowed/prostrated

• गरुडध्वजम्: the one whose banner is Garuḍa (Viṣṇu)

• त्वम्: you

• आदिः: the first/origin

• त्वम्: you

• अनादिः: beginningless

• च: and

• प्रकृतिः: Prakṛti, primordial Nature/material cause

• त्वम्: you

• जनार्दनः: Janārdana (Viṣṇu, remover of afflictions of beings)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating; internal stuti addressed to Vishnu as Garuḍadhvaja)

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Janardana
• Garuḍa

FAQs

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

It frames the Supreme as the beginningless source and as Prakṛti, preparing the reader for Linga Purāṇa’s teaching that the manifest cosmos and ritual symbols (including the Liṅga) point back to the one transcendent Pati who stands beyond yet pervades all causes.

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

Though addressed to Janārdana, the verse uses supreme-cause language (ādi/anādi, source of Prakṛti) that Linga Purāṇa often applies within a non-dual theistic frame: Shiva-tattva as Pati is beginningless and the ground of both Prakṛti (the field of bondage) and the liberation of the paśu.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The practice is stuti with praṇāma—devotional praise preceded by prostration—an essential limb supporting pūjā and inner recollection (smaraṇa) that, in a Pāśupata-oriented reading, purifies the paśu and loosens pasha through God-centered contemplation.