Shloka 2

Adhyaya 63: Daksha’s Progeny, Kashyapa’s Offspring, and the Rishi-Vamshas that Sustain the Worlds

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच संकल्पाद्दर्शनात्स्पर्शात् पूर्वेषां सृष्टिरुच्यते दक्षात्प्राचेतसादूर्ध्वं सृष्टिर्मैथुनसंभवा

Transliteration

sūta uvāca saṃkalpāddarśanātsparśāt pūrveṣāṃ sṛṣṭirucyate dakṣātprācetasādūrdhvaṃ sṛṣṭirmaithunasaṃbhavā

Translation

Sūta said: The creation of the earliest beings is said to arise through mere intention (saṅkalpa), through sight, and through touch. But from Dakṣa, the son of Prācetasa, onward, creation proceeds through sexual union (maithuna).

Word by Word

• सूत उवाच: Sūta said

• संकल्पात्: from intention/will (saṅkalpa)

• दर्शनात्: from seeing/sight

• स्पर्शात्: from touch/contact

• पूर्वेषाम्: of the earlier ones/primordial beings

• सृष्टिः: creation/progeny

• उच्यते: is said/is taught

• दक्षात्: from Dakṣa

• प्राचेतसात्: from Prācetasa (son of the Pracetas)

• ऊर्ध्वम्: upward/thereafter/from that point onward

• सृष्टिः: creation

• मैथुनसंभवा: arising from maithuna, sexual union

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Suta
• Daksha
• Pracetas

FAQs

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

It frames creation as governed by subtle to gross modalities—will, sight, touch, and later maithuna—implying that embodied life (pashu) arises within ordered cosmic law under Pati (Śiva), the ultimate source honored through the Liṅga.

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

By implying that creation can occur without physical means (through saṅkalpa, sight, touch), it points to a higher, non-material causality—consistent with Śiva-tattva as the supreme Pati whose icchā (will) and śakti can manifest worlds prior to gross generation.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the takeaway is contemplative: Pāśupata-oriented practice treats embodiment and sexuality as part of māyā-bound creation (pāśa), encouraging the yogin to seek the will-born, subtle source—Pati—through Liṅga-pūjā and inner discipline.