Shloka 12

मुनिमोहशमनम्

Pāśupata-yoga, Siddhis, Puruṣa-darśana, Saṃsāra, and Prāṇa-Rudra Pañcāhutī

Devanagari script

इन्द्रियाणि मनश्चैव अहङ्कारश् च यः स्मृतः तत्र सूक्ष्मप्रवृत्तिस्तु पञ्चभूतात्मिका पुनः

Transliteration

indriyāṇi manaścaiva ahaṅkāraś ca yaḥ smṛtaḥ tatra sūkṣmapravṛttistu pañcabhūtātmikā punaḥ

Translation

The senses, the mind, and that which is remembered as egoity (ahaṅkāra)—within these operates the subtle activity (sūkṣma-pravṛtti), which again is constituted of the five great elements. Thus the embodied soul (paśu) experiences the world through elemental bondage (pāśa) until it turns toward the Lord (Pati), Śiva.

Word by Word

• इन्द्रियाणि: the senses

• मनः: the mind

• च एव: and indeed

• अहङ्कारः: ego-sense/egoity

• च: and

• यः: which/that

• स्मृतः: is remembered/known (as taught in śāstra)

• तत्र: there/within that (complex)

• सूक्ष्म-प्रवृत्तिः: subtle activity/inner functioning

• तु: indeed/but

• पञ्च-भूत-आत्मिका: having the nature of the five elements

• पुनः: again/furthermore

Speaker

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

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames why Linga-puja is transformative: worship redirects the senses, mind, and ego from elemental outwardness (pāśa) toward Śiva as Pati, enabling purification of the subtle functioning that drives bondage.

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

By implication, Śiva-tattva is distinct from the senses-mind-ego complex and from the five-element constitution; Śiva is the transcendent Lord (Pati) who can free the paśu from the subtle, element-based activity that sustains saṃsāra.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

It points to inner discipline central to Pāśupata-oriented practice—restraint and reorientation of indriyas, manas, and ahaṅkāra—supported outwardly by Linga-puja and inwardly by meditation on Śiva beyond the elements.