Shloka 28

Adhyaya 75: Nishkala–Sakala Shiva, Twofold Linga, and the Supremacy of Dhyana-Yajna

Devanagari script

स्वप्ने च विपुलान् भोगान् भुक्त्वा मर्त्यः सुखी भवेत् दुःखी च भोगं दुःखं च नानुभूतं विचारतः

Transliteration

svapne ca vipulān bhogān bhuktvā martyaḥ sukhī bhavet duḥkhī ca bhogaṃ duḥkhaṃ ca nānubhūtaṃ vicārataḥ

Translation

Even in a dream, having “enjoyed” abundant pleasures, a mortal may feel happy; and likewise may feel sorrow. Yet, by right discrimination, one knows that neither pleasure nor pain was truly experienced—being only a projection of the mind, not the reality of the Pati (Lord) beyond all change.

Word by Word

• स्वप्ने: in a dream

• च: and

• विपुलान्: abundant, extensive

• भोगान्: enjoyments, sense-pleasures

• भुक्त्वा: having experienced/consumed

• मर्त्यः: a mortal, embodied being (pashu)

• सुखी: happy

• भवेत्: may become

• दुःखी: sorrowful

• च: and

• भोगम्: enjoyment/experience

• दुःखम्: pain/suffering

• च: and

• न: not

• अनुभूतम्: truly experienced, realized as fact

• विचारतः: upon reflection/discrimination (viveka)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the teaching context to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It builds vairagya and viveka: just as dream-pleasures and pains are mentally constructed, worldly bhoga is also unstable; Linga worship is directed to the changeless Pati (Shiva) rather than fleeting experiences.

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

By contrast: pleasures and pains arise in the mind of the pashu and dissolve on inquiry, while Shiva-tattva is the steady reality beyond mental modification—witnessing but untouched by bhoga and duḥkha.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Viveka (discriminative inquiry) as a core Pashupata-Yogic discipline—using reflection to loosen pasha (bondage) created by identification with experiences.