Shloka 7

अविद्या-पञ्चक, नवसर्ग-क्रमः, प्रजापति-प्रसवः

Vibhaga 1, Adhyaya 5

Devanagari script

सर्गस्तृतीयश्चैन्द्रियस् तुरीयो मुख्य उच्यते तिर्यग्योन्यः पञ्चमस्तु षष्ठो दैविक उच्यते

Transliteration

sargastṛtīyaścaindriyas turīyo mukhya ucyate tiryagyonyaḥ pañcamastu ṣaṣṭho daivika ucyate

Translation

“The third is the sensory creation (aindriya-sarga). The fourth is said to be the principal creation. The fifth is the creation of the animal wombs (tiryag-yoni). The sixth is declared to be the divine creation.”

Word by Word

• sargaḥ: creation/emanation

• tṛtīyaḥ: the third

• ca: and

• aindriyaḥ: pertaining to the senses (sensory order)

• turīyaḥ: the fourth

• mukhyaḥ: primary/chief

• ucyate: is said/declared

• tiryag-yoniḥ: animal birth/creation of non-human species

• pañcamaḥ: the fifth

• tu: indeed/but

• ṣaṣṭhaḥ: the sixth

• daivikaḥ: divine/celestial

• ucyate: is called

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana to the sages at Naimisharanya)

FAQs

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

By classifying creation into distinct sargas—sensory, principal, animal, and divine—the verse frames all beings (pashu) and realms as effects within Shiva’s cosmic order, encouraging Linga worship as turning from sensory bondage (pāśa) toward the Lord (Pati).

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

Though Shiva is not named here, the doctrine implied is that Shiva-tattva stands as the transcendent Pati who grounds and regulates all levels of manifestation—from sense-based experience to divine orders—while remaining beyond them.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse supports a Pāśupata-style discrimination (viveka): recognizing the sensory (aindriya) and embodied (tiryag-yoni) strata as conditioned states, and orienting practice—japa, dhyāna, and Linga-pūjā—toward liberation from pāśa.