Shloka 26

Varaha-Pradurbhava Context: Prahlada’s Bhakti, Narasimha’s Ugra-Form, and Shiva’s Sharabha Intervention

Devanagari script

द्विजशापच्छलेनैवम् अवतीर्णो ऽसि लीलया न दृष्टं यत्त्वदन्यं हि भवान् सर्वं चराचरम्

Transliteration

dvijaśāpacchalenaivam avatīrṇo 'si līlayā na dṛṣṭaṃ yattvadanyaṃ hi bhavān sarvaṃ carācaram

Translation

So bist du unter dem Vorwand des Fluches eines Brāhmaṇa in freier Līlā herabgestiegen. Denn nichts existiert außer dir: Wahrlich, du allein bist alles Bewegte und alles Unbewegte.

Word by Word

• द्विज (dvija): twice-born, brāhmaṇa

• शाप (śāpa): curse

• छल (chala): pretext, guise

• एवम् (evam): thus

• अवतीर्णः (avatīrṇaḥ): descended, incarnated

• असि (asi): you are

• लीलया (līlayā): playfully, by divine sport

• न (na): not

• दृष्टम् (dṛṣṭam): seen, found to exist

• यत् (yat): that which

• त्वत्-अन्यं (tvad-anyam): other than you

• हि (hi): indeed

• भवान् (bhavān): you (reverential)

• सर्वम् (sarvam): all

• चर-अचरम् (cara-acaram): moving and unmoving (the entire cosmos)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating an internal eulogy addressed to Shiva within the Purana’s dialogue frame)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It grounds Linga-worship in non-dual Shaiva insight: the Linga signifies Pati (Shiva) as the all-pervading reality—nothing exists outside Him—so worship becomes recognition of Shiva in all chara–achara.

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

Shiva is presented as the totality of existence—both manifest (moving beings) and unmanifest/steady (immobile reality). His ‘descent’ is not compulsion but līlā, a freely assumed manifestation that does not limit His supremacy.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The implied Pāśupata-oriented takeaway is Shiva-darśana: training the mind to perceive all phenomena as Pati’s manifestation, loosening pāśa (bondage) on the paśu (individual soul) through devotion and contemplative recognition.