Shloka 84

ध्यानयज्ञः, संसार-विष-निरूपणम्, पाशुपतयोगः, परा-अपरा विद्या, चतुर्वस्था-विचारः (अध्यायः ८६)

Devanagari script

नाग इत्येव कथिता वायवश् च चतुर्दश यश्चक्षुःष्वथ द्रष्टव्ये तथादित्ये च सुव्रताः

Transliteration

nāga ityeva kathitā vāyavaś ca caturdaśa yaścakṣuḥṣvatha draṣṭavye tathāditye ca suvratāḥ

Translation

They are indeed declared to be the Nāgas; and the Vāyavas are said to be fourteen. Those who preside over the eyes and the very act of seeing, and likewise those connected with Āditya (the solar principle)—all are steadfast in their sacred vows.

Word by Word

• नाग (nāga): Nāga-class beings/serpentine divinities

• इति एव (iti eva): thus indeed

• कथिता (kathitā): are said/declared

• वायवः (vāyavaḥ): wind-deities/forces of prāṇa

• चतुर्दश (caturdaśa): fourteen

• यः (yaḥ): those who

• चक्षुषु (cakṣuṣu): in the eyes

• अथ (atha): then/also

• द्रष्टव्ये (draṣṭavye): in the object/field of seeing, in the act of perception

• तथा (tathā): likewise

• आदित्ये (āditye): in/connected with the Sun, solar principle

• च (ca): and

• सुव्रताः (suvratāḥ): of good vows, disciplined/observant.

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya; contextual)

Characters & Entities

• Nāga
• Vāyu/Vāyavas
• Āditya (Solar deity/principle)

FAQs

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

It frames the cosmos—including sense-powers like sight—as governed by vowed divine forces; in Linga-puja, the devotee offers these functions back to Shiva (Pati), recognizing Him as the inner ruler beyond all presiding deities.

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

By listing Nāgas, Vāyavas, and the solar principle as ordered and vow-bound, the verse implies a higher sovereignty that coordinates them—Shiva-tattva as the transcendent Pati in whom all cosmic functions find their ground and regulation.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Indriya-nigraha (restraint of the senses), especially disciplining sight and attention; in a Shaiva-Pāśupata sense, perception is purified by offering the act of seeing to Shiva during japa, dhyāna, and Linga-archana.