Shloka 44

Adhyaya 8: Yogasthanas, Ashtanga Yoga, Pranayama-Siddhi, and Shiva-Dhyana leading to Samadhi

Devanagari script

चिद्भासमर्थमात्रस्य देहशून्यमिव स्थितम् समाधिः सर्वहेतुश् च प्राणायाम इति स्मृतः

Transliteration

cidbhāsamarthamātrasya dehaśūnyamiva sthitam samādhiḥ sarvahetuś ca prāṇāyāma iti smṛtaḥ

Translation

Prāṇāyāma is remembered as abiding as though devoid of the body—resting solely in the power of consciousness’ radiance. It is samādhi itself and the universal cause, the chief means, for all yogic attainments.

Word by Word

• चित् (cit): consciousness

• भास (bhāsa): radiance/manifest light

• समर्थ (samartha): capable/potent

• मात्रस्य (mātrasya): of one who is only/solely

• देह (deha): body

• शून्यम् (śūnyam): empty/void

• इव (iva): as if

• स्थितम् (sthitam): abiding/established

• समाधिः (samādhiḥ): contemplative absorption

• सर्व (sarva): all

• हेतुः (hetuḥ): cause/means

• च (ca): and

• प्राणायामः (prāṇāyāmaḥ): breath-regulation/restraint of prāṇa

• इति (iti): thus

• स्मृतः (smṛtaḥ): is remembered/declared

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the teaching tradition of Pashupata Yoga within the Linga Purana)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It shifts worship from outer form to inner Linga—abidance in pure consciousness—showing prāṇāyāma as a direct support for internal Shiva-pūjā culminating in samādhi.

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

By emphasizing the “radiance of consciousness” beyond bodily identification, it points to Shiva as Pati—self-luminous cit—known when the pashu rests free of pasha-like body-bound limitation.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Prāṇāyāma in the Pashupata-Yoga sense: regulating prāṇa so awareness becomes body-transcending, ripening into samādhi as the principal means for yogic realization.