Shloka 49

Adhyaya 70: आदिसर्गः—महत्-अहङ्कार-तन्मात्रा-भूतसृष्टिः, ब्रह्माण्डावरणम्, प्रजासर्गः, त्रिमूर्ति-शैवाधिष्ठानम्

Devanagari script

विशेषाश्चेन्द्रियग्राह्या नियतत्वाच्च ते स्मृताः गुणं पूर्वस्य सर्गस्य प्राप्नुवन्त्युत्तरोत्तराः

Transliteration

viśeṣāścendriyagrāhyā niyatatvācca te smṛtāḥ guṇaṃ pūrvasya sargasya prāpnuvantyuttarottarāḥ

Translation

These particularities (viśeṣas) are apprehended by the senses and are therefore remembered as determinate. In the successive stages of creation, each later creation comes to possess the quality of the preceding creation—step by step—according to the ordered unfolding governed by Pati (Śiva).

Word by Word

• viśeṣāḥ: particular characteristics, specific differentiations

• ca: and

• indriya-grāhyāḥ: grasped by the senses

• niyatatvāt: because of determinateness/definiteness

• ca: and

• te: they

• smṛtāḥ: are remembered/declared

• guṇam: the quality/attribute

• pūrvasya: of the prior/previous

• sargasya: creation/emission

• prāpnuvanti: attain/come to have

• uttarottarāḥ: the later and later (successive stages)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the cosmological teaching as received in the Purana)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames creation as an ordered, determinate unfolding under Pati (Śiva); Linga worship aligns the devotee (paśu) with that governing principle beyond sense-bound viśeṣas.

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

Śiva is implied as the regulator of niyati (order/determinateness) by which successive creations inherit prior qualities; He stands as Pati, the transcendent governor of the manifest guṇas.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Viveka (discriminative discernment) central to Pāśupata-oriented practice: recognizing sense-grasped particulars as determinate products of sṛṣṭi, and turning awareness toward Pati through japa, dhyāna, and Linga-upāsanā.