Shloka 21
प्रणवमहिमा — The Greatness of the Praṇava (Om) as Śiva
अकारस्तु महद्बीजं रजस्स्रष्टा चतुर्मुखः । उकारः प्रकृतिर्योनिस्सत्त्वं पालयिता हरिः
akārastu mahadbījaṃ rajassraṣṭā caturmukhaḥ | ukāraḥ prakṛtiryonissattvaṃ pālayitā hariḥ
“A” is the great seed, the primordial source; from rajas arises the four‑faced creator, Brahmā. “U” is Prakṛti, the womb of manifestation; from sattva arises Hari (Viṣṇu), the preserver.
Lord Shiva
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Sadyojāta
Type: gayatri
Role: creative
FAQs
It links the sacred sound (seed-syllables) to cosmic functions: rajas manifests as Brahmā’s creative impulse, and sattva sustains as Viṣṇu’s preserving power—pointing to a deeper Shaiva view that these operate within the higher reality taught by Shiva.
In Linga worship, devotees contemplate Shiva as the transcendent ground from which the functions of creation and preservation arise; meditating on AUM and its phonemes supports Saguna-upāsanā while directing the mind toward Shiva as the supreme Pati beyond the guṇas.
A practical takeaway is japa and dhyāna on AUM (or joining it with the Panchākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), contemplating ‘A’ as the seed of emergence and ‘U’ as the sustaining womb of Prakṛti, while offering the mind into Shiva’s higher stillness.