Shloka 16
Adhyaya 45: Rudra as Sarvatma—Seven Lokas, Seven Talas, and the Cosmic Body of Shiva
सुवर्णेन मुनिश्रेष्ठास् तथा वासुकिना शुभम् रसातलमिति ख्यातं तथान्यैश् च निषेवितम्
suvarṇena muniśreṣṭhās tathā vāsukinā śubham rasātalamiti khyātaṃ tathānyaiś ca niṣevitam
O best of sages, that auspicious region—adorned with gold and presided over by Vāsuki—is renowned as Rasātala; other beings too dwell there and resort to it.
Suta Goswami
FAQs
By locating Rasātala within the ordered cosmos, the verse supports the Purāṇic vision that all realms are contained within Śiva’s sovereign order (Pati), making Liṅga-pūjā a universal act that sanctifies every level of existence.
Though Śiva is not named, the verse reflects Śiva-tattva indirectly: even netherworld realms function in harmony and splendor, implying an underlying, regulating Lordship (Pati) that upholds and illumines the worlds beyond the reach of ordinary perception.
No specific rite is prescribed in this line; the takeaway is contemplative: Pāśupata practitioners use such cosmological mapping for dhyāna—recognizing all lokas as encompassed by Pati, loosening pasha (bondage) through right vision.