Shloka 149

Adhyaya 72 — Puradāha: Rudra’s Cosmic Chariot, Pāśupata-Vrata, and Brahmā’s Shiva-Stuti

Devanagari script

धारणाभ्यासयुक्तानां पुरस्तात्संस्थिताय च ध्यानाय ध्यानरूपाय ध्यानगम्याय ते नमः

Transliteration

dhāraṇābhyāsayuktānāṃ purastātsaṃsthitāya ca dhyānāya dhyānarūpāya dhyānagamyāya te namaḥ

Translation

Salutations to You—who stand before those disciplined in the practice of dhāraṇā; who are Meditation itself; whose very form is meditation; and who are attained through meditation—O Pati, Lord who releases the paśu from pāśa.

Word by Word

• dhāraṇā: concentration/steadfast fixing of awareness

• abhyāsa: repeated practice

• yuktānām: of those who are joined to/engaged in

• purastāt: in front, before (as the immediate presence)

• saṃsthitāya: abiding/standing, established

• ca: and

• dhyānāya: to (You who are) meditation

• dhyāna-rūpāya: whose form/nature is meditation

• dhyāna-gamyāya: attainable/realizable through meditation

• te: to You

• namaḥ: salutation, reverent bow

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya; a dhyāna-stuti within the Linga Purana’s Shaiva teaching context)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It shifts worship from external offering alone to inner upāsanā: Shiva is to be approached as the living presence revealed through dhāraṇā and dhyāna—making meditation a core limb of Linga-centered devotion.

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

Shiva is presented as both the object and the very essence of contemplation—dhyāna itself, the form of dhyāna, and the goal reached by dhyāna—indicating Pati as transcendent yet immediately manifest to the yogin.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Dhāraṇā-abhyāsa leading into dhyāna: sustained concentration and meditative absorption through which Shiva becomes directly ‘present before’ the practitioner, a hallmark of Pāśupata-oriented inner sādhanā.