Shloka 3

आभ्यन्तरध्यान-तत्त्वगणना-चतुर्व्यूहयोगः

Adhyaya 28

Devanagari script

ततो बहुविधं प्रोक्तं चिन्त्यं तत्रास्ति चेद्यतः चिन्तकस्य ततश्चिन्ता अन्यथा नोपपद्यते

Transliteration

tato bahuvidhaṃ proktaṃ cintyaṃ tatrāsti cedyataḥ cintakasya tataścintā anyathā nopapadyate

Translation

Therefore the object fit for contemplation has been taught in many ways; for if there truly exists something to be contemplated, then in the contemplator—the bound soul, paśu—contemplation must arise from that very reality; otherwise such contemplation could not be accounted for.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: therefore/thereupon

• bahu-vidham: in many ways/variously

• proktam: has been declared/taught

• cintyam: that which is to be contemplated/the contemplable

• tatra: there/in that context

• asti: exists

• cet: if

• yataḥ: because/since

• cintakasya: of the contemplator/thinker

• tataḥ: from that (existing object/reality)

• cintā: contemplation/thought

• anyathā: otherwise

• na upapadyate: is not reasonable/does not follow

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It grounds linga-upāsanā in a Shaiva epistemology: the very possibility of sustained Shiva-cintana implies a real contemplable principle—Śiva as Pati—toward whom the mind and worship are directed.

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

It implies Shiva-tattva as an objectively real ‘cintya’ (knowable/meditatable) principle; the paśu’s cognition and contemplation are meaningful because they arise in relation to that existent reality, not from mere imagination.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Shiva-cintana (continuous contemplative recollection of Pati) as a Pāśupata-oriented discipline supporting puja and inner yoga—turning the paśu’s mind away from pāśa (bondage) toward the contemplable Lord.