Shloka 25

योगान्तरायाः, औपसर्गिकसिद्धयः, परवैराग्येन शैवप्रसादः

Devanagari script

प्राजापत्ये त्वहङ्कारं ब्राह्मे बोधमनुत्तमम् आद्ये चाष्टौ द्वितीये च तथा षोडशरूपकम्

Transliteration

prājāpatye tvahaṅkāraṃ brāhme bodhamanuttamam ādye cāṣṭau dvitīye ca tathā ṣoḍaśarūpakam

Translation

In the Prajāpatya (creative) order arises egoity (ahaṅkāra); in the Brahmic order, the unsurpassed awakening (buddhi). In the first set there are eight forms, and in the second as well; likewise, there is a sixteenfold configuration—thus the structure of manifestation is taught.

Word by Word

• प्राजापत्ये: in the Prajāpatya (Prajāpati-related, creative) order

• तु: indeed

• अहङ्कारम्: ego-principle, I-maker (ahaṅkāra)

• ब्राह्मे: in the Brahmic (Brahmā-related) order

• बोधम्: awakening, intelligence, cognition (buddhi/jñāna)

• अनुत्तमम्: unsurpassed, supreme

• आद्ये: in the first (category/sequence)

• च: and

• अष्टौ: eight

• द्वितीये: in the second

• च: and

• तथा: likewise

• षोडश-रूपकम्: having sixteen forms, sixteenfold configuration

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the cosmological tattva-sequence as taught in the Linga Purana tradition)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Brahma
• Prajapati

FAQs

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

It frames creation as a graded unfolding of inner principles—buddhi and ahaṅkāra—reminding the Linga-upāsaka that true worship is also the inward dissolution of these layers into Pati (Śiva), not merely external ritual.

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

By outlining buddhi, ahaṅkāra, and the eight/sixteenfold manifestations as created orders, it implies Śiva-tattva as the transcendent Pati beyond these evolutes—unconditioned consciousness that is prior to and independent of the tattva-chain.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

It points to Pāśupata-oriented inner discipline: observing and relinquishing ahaṅkāra (egoity) and refining buddhi through jñāna and dhyāna so the pashu (soul) loosens pasha (bondage) and turns toward Pati (Śiva).