Shloka 5

Adhyaya 72 — Puradāha: Rudra’s Cosmic Chariot, Pāśupata-Vrata, and Brahmā’s Shiva-Stuti

Devanagari script

ऋक्षाणि च तदा तस्य वामस्यैव तु भूषणम् नेम्यः षडृतवश्चैव तयोर्वै विप्रपुङ्गवाः

Transliteration

ṛkṣāṇi ca tadā tasya vāmasyaiva tu bhūṣaṇam nemyaḥ ṣaḍṛtavaścaiva tayorvai viprapuṅgavāḥ

Translation

Da wurden, o Bester der Brahmanen, die Mondstationen zum Schmuck Seiner linken Seite; und die Felgen des Rades sowie die sechs Jahreszeiten wurden zu Zierden jener kosmischen Glieder des Herrn—und offenbarten, dass alle Zeit und Ordnung auf Pati, dem höchsten Śiva, ruhen.

Word by Word

• ऋक्षाणि: the lunar mansions (nakṣatras)

• च: and

• तदा: then

• तस्य: of Him

• वामस्य: of the left (side)

• एव: indeed

• तु: and/indeed

• भूषणम्: ornament/adornment

• नेम्यः: wheel-rims/felloes (nemi)

• षडृतवः: the six seasons

• च: and

• एव: also

• तयोः: of those/two (parts/limbs)

• वै: indeed

• विप्रपुङ्गवाः: O foremost among Brahmins

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames Shiva (the Linga’s Lord) as the very support of cosmic time—nakṣatras and seasons—so Linga-puja is presented as worship of the source that sustains all calendrical and ritual order.

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

Shiva-tattva is implied as Pati: the transcendent Lord in whom the structures of time (ṛtu) and celestial measure (ṛkṣa/nakṣatra) appear merely as ornaments—dependent realities, not independent powers.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

A contemplative upāsanā is suggested: meditate on Mahadeva as Kāla-adhīśa (Lord of Time), aligning vrata and puja with seasons and lunar mansions while recognizing that liberation of the paśu comes by taking refuge in Pati, not in time-bound rites alone.