Shloka 61

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

Devanagari script

फ़िर्स्त् पुरुष आधाराधेयभावेन विकारास्ते विकारिषु महेश्वरः परो ऽव्यक्ताद् अण्डम् अव्यक्तसंभवम्

Transliteration

first puruṣa ādhārādheyabhāvena vikārāste vikāriṣu maheśvaraḥ paro 'vyaktād aṇḍam avyaktasaṃbhavam

Translation

The First Person, Puruṣa, as the relation of support and supported (ādhāra–ādheya), becomes the transformations within the transformed principles; yet Mahādeva remains the Supreme, beyond even the Unmanifest (Avyakta), from whom the cosmic Egg (Aṇḍa) arises, born of the Unmanifest.

Word by Word

• prathamaḥ: the first, primordial

• puruṣaḥ: Puruṣa, the primal person/principle

• ādhāra-ādheya-bhāvena: in the mode of supporter and supported (substratum and dependent)

• vikārāḥ: modifications, evolutes

• te: those

• vikāriṣu: among the modified/evolving principles

• maheśvaraḥ: Mahā-īśvara, the Great Lord (Śiva as Pati)

• paraḥ: supreme, transcendent

• avyaktāt: from the unmanifest (prakṛti/māyā)

• aṇḍam: the cosmic egg (brahmāṇḍa)

• avyakta-saṃbhavam: originating from the unmanifest

Speaker

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

Characters & Entities

• Maheshvara (Shiva)

FAQs

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

It frames Śiva (Pati) as the ultimate substratum (ādhāra) of all evolutes, so Linga worship is not mere symbol-veneration but devotion to the transcendent ground from which the cosmos (brahmāṇḍa) manifests.

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

Śiva is shown as both immanent (present as the ordering support within transformations) and transcendent (paraḥ—beyond even the avyakta), establishing Shiva-tattva as the supreme cause distinct from yet pervading tattvas.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The takeaway aligns with Pāśupata discipline: meditate on Pati as the support of all states (manifest/unmanifest), loosening pāśa (bondage) by shifting identity from vikāras (changes) to the unchanging Lord.