Shloka 9

Devanagari script

प्रत्याहारं पञ्चमो वै धारणा च ततः परा ध्यानं सप्तममित्युक्तं समाधिस्त्वष्टमः स्मृतः

Transliteration

pratyāhāraṃ pañcamo vai dhāraṇā ca tataḥ parā dhyānaṃ saptamamityuktaṃ samādhistvaṣṭamaḥ smṛtaḥ

Translation

Pratyāhāra ist wahrlich das fünfte Glied; danach kommt Dhāraṇā. Dhyāna wird als siebtes bezeichnet, und Samādhi gilt als achtes — die höheren Stufen des Pāśupata-Yoga, die das paśu (die gebundene Seele) zum Pati, dem Herrn, hinführen.

Word by Word

• प्रत्याहारम्: withdrawal (of the senses)

• पञ्चमः: the fifth (limb)

• वै: indeed

• धारणा: concentration/steadfast fixing (of awareness)

• च: and

• ततः परा: after that/thereupon

• ध्यानम्: meditation

• सप्तमम्: the seventh

• इति: thus

• उक्तम्: said/declared

• समाधिः: absorptive contemplation, enstasy

• तु: and/indeed

• अष्टमः: the eighth

• स्मृतः: remembered/traditionally held

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the yoga teaching within the Linga Purana discourse)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It shifts worship from outer ritual alone to inner discipline: the devotee withdraws the senses (pratyāhāra), concentrates (dhāraṇā), meditates (dhyāna), and attains samādhi—making the heart a sanctum where Śiva is realized as Pati.

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

Śiva-tattva is implied as the supreme object of absorption: samādhi culminates in steadiness in the Lord beyond sensory dispersion, where the paśu’s pasha (bondage) is attenuated and the Pati is directly intuited.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The higher limbs of aṣṭāṅga within a Pāśupata orientation—pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi—presented as the practical ascent toward liberation (mokṣa) and Śiva-realization.