Shloka 24
Devīkṛta-praśna-varṇana (Description of the Goddess’s Questions) / देवीकृतप्रश्नवर्णनम्
ब्रह्माणि पंच मंत्रेऽस्मिन्कथं तिष्ठंत्यनुक्रमात् । कलाः कति समाख्याताः प्रपंचात्मकता कथम्
brahmāṇi paṃca maṃtre'sminkathaṃ tiṣṭhaṃtyanukramāt | kalāḥ kati samākhyātāḥ prapaṃcātmakatā katham
„Wie verweilen in diesem Mantra die fünf ‘Brahmas’ der Reihe nach? Wie viele kalās (göttliche Aspekte/Kräfte) werden genannt? Und auf welche Weise wird dieses Mantra zur Gestalt des manifestierten Weltgefüges (prapañca)?“
Sages at Naimisharanya (questioning Suta Goswami)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Significance: Connects mantra-structure to cosmology: the five Brahmas and kalās as the template by which prapañca is manifested and understood—supporting liberation through right knowledge.
Mantra: (Implied doctrinal locus) pañcākṣarī ‘namaḥ śivāya’ is traditionally mapped to the five Brahmas; verse asks how the five Brahmas abide in ‘this mantra’.
Type: panchakshara
Role: creative
Cosmic Event: Prapañca-ātmakatā (mantra as cosmos) is invoked conceptually, not as a specific event.
FAQs
It frames the mantra as a complete Shaiva metaphysics: Shiva’s fivefold divine reality (often taught as five faces/aspects) and His kalās are understood as the inner architecture by which consciousness appears as the world, guiding the seeker from prapañca to liberation.
By asking how the mantra contains the five Brahmas and the manifested cosmos, the verse supports Saguna worship: the Linga and mantra are approached as concrete, grace-filled forms through which the devotee realizes the Nirguna Shiva beyond all manifestation.
Contemplative japa of the Shiva-mantra (especially the Panchakshara) with tattva-bhavana—meditating on Shiva’s fivefold presence and His powers—so mantra recitation becomes both devotion and inner inquiry leading toward moksha.