Shloka 41

देवादिसृष्टिकथनम् (वसिष्ठशोकः, पराशरजन्म, एकलिङ्गपूजा, रुद्रदर्शनम्)

Devanagari script

अहो ममात्र काठिन्यं मनसो मुनिपुङ्गव पतिं प्राणसमं त्यक्त्वा स्थिता यत्र क्षणं यतः

Transliteration

aho mamātra kāṭhinyaṃ manaso munipuṅgava patiṃ prāṇasamaṃ tyaktvā sthitā yatra kṣaṇaṃ yataḥ

Translation

Alas—how hard my mind has become here, O best of sages! Having abandoned my Lord, dear as my very life-breath, how have I remained in this place even for a moment, and for what cause?

Word by Word

• aho: alas/indeed

• mama: my

• atra: here/in this matter

• kāṭhinyaṃ: hardness/rigidity

• manasaḥ: of the mind

• muni-puṅgava: O foremost among sages

• patiṃ: the Lord/master (Pati)

• prāṇa-samaṃ: equal to life-breath/as dear as life

• tyaktvā: having abandoned/left behind

• sthitā: remained/stood

• yatra: where/in which place

• kṣaṇam: for a moment

• yataḥ: why/for what cause/from what reason

Speaker

Suta (narrating an internal lament of a devoted woman; contextual inference within the Purva-Bhaga narrative)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames Shiva as Pati—the devotee’s very life-breath—so Linga-worship becomes an act of returning the mind from dispersion to single-pointed remembrance and surrender.

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

Shiva is implied as Pati, the indispensable inner support of the pashu (soul); separation from Him is experienced as loss of prāṇa itself, underscoring His role as the sustaining Reality beyond mere relational attachment.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse highlights viraha as a yogic catalyst: recognizing the mind’s hardness and turning it back to Pati aligns with Pashupata-style inner recollection (smaraṇa) and detachment from place-bound distraction.