Shloka 2

Adhyaya 45: Rudra as Sarvatma—Seven Lokas, Seven Talas, and the Cosmic Body of Shiva

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच भूर्भुवः स्वर्महश्चैव जनः साक्षात्तपस् तथा सत्यलोकश् च पातालं नरकार्णवकोटयः

Transliteration

sūta uvāca bhūrbhuvaḥ svarmahaścaiva janaḥ sākṣāttapas tathā satyalokaś ca pātālaṃ narakārṇavakoṭayaḥ

Translation

Sūta sprach: Bhūr, Bhuvar, Svar und auch Mahas; dann Jana; ebenso Tapas; und Satyaloka—zusammen mit Pātāla und den unzähligen Ozeanen der Höllen—das sind die weiten Gliederungen des Kosmos.

Word by Word

• sūta uvāca: Sūta said

• bhūḥ: the earth-world (Bhū-loka)

• bhuvaḥ: the mid-region/atmospheric world (Bhuvar-loka)

• svaḥ (svar): the heavenly world (Svar-loka)

• mahaḥ: Mahas-loka

• ca eva: and indeed

• janaḥ: Jana-loka

• sākṣāt: directly/manifestly

• tapaḥ: Tapa-loka (world of austerity)

• tathā: likewise

• satyalokaḥ: Satya-loka (Brahma-loka)

• ca: and

• pātālam: Pātāla (netherworld)

• naraka-arṇava-koṭayaḥ: crores of oceans of hells (innumerable hell-realms)

Speaker

Suta

Characters & Entities

• Suta
• Satyaloka
• Patala
• Naraka

FAQs

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

By mapping the full range of worlds—from Satyaloka down to Pātāla and narakas—the verse frames why Linga-worship is universal: devotion to Pati (Śiva) is taught as the means for the pashu (soul) to transcend all loka-bound conditions.

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

Though Śiva is not named here, the cosmological sweep implies a Shaiva Siddhānta premise: all realms are within the ordered manifestation, while Shiva-tattva as Pati is the transcendent Lord beyond these strata, granting mokṣa beyond loka and naraka.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific rite is stated in this line; the implied takeaway is Pāśupata-oriented ascent—through Shiva-bhakti, japa, and inner discipline—so the soul is freed from pasha that binds it to repeated movement through higher and lower worlds.