Shloka 23

नैमिषारण्ये सूतागमनम् — लिङ्गमाहात्म्यभूमिका तथा शब्दब्रह्म-ओङ्कार-लिङ्गतत्त्वम्

Devanagari script

प्रधानावयवं व्याप्य सप्तधाधिष्ठितं क्रमात् पुनः षोडशधा चैव षड्विंशकम् अजोद्भवम्

Transliteration

pradhānāvayavaṃ vyāpya saptadhādhiṣṭhitaṃ kramāt punaḥ ṣoḍaśadhā caiva ṣaḍviṃśakam ajodbhavam

Translation

Pervading Pradhāna and its constituents, it is established in a sevenfold order in due sequence; again it becomes sixteenfold, and then the uncreated, unborn twenty-sixfold principle arises.

Word by Word

• pradhāna: Pradhāna (primordial nature)

• avayavam: constituent parts/elements

• vyāpya: pervading, permeating

• saptadhā: sevenfold

• adhiṣṭhitam: established, presided over/grounded

• kramāt: in due order, sequentially

• punaḥ: again, further

• ṣoḍaśadhā: sixteenfold

• ca eva: and indeed

• ṣaḍviṃśakam: twenty-sixfold

• aja-udbhavam: unborn/uncreated in origin, arising without external cause

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames creation as a graded manifestation grounded in a higher presiding reality, supporting Linga worship as reverence for Shiva (Pati) who permeates and stabilizes Pradhana and all tattvas.

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

By implying an uncreated (aja) principle beyond the evolutes, it aligns with Shiva-tattva as the transcendent Pati who pervades and governs the ordered unfoldment of nature without being produced by it.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse points to tattva-viveka (discriminative insight) foundational to Pashupata-oriented sadhana: discerning Pashu bound in Pradhana’s evolutes from Pati, the unborn Lord realized through Linga-upasana and inner contemplation.