Shloka 16
Viśveśvara-māhātmya and the Nirguṇa–Saguṇa Emergence of Śiva (Śakti–Puruṣa/Prakṛti Discourse)
विष्णुस्तत्रैव सुष्वाप प्रकृत्या स्वस्त्रिया सह । तन्नाभिकमलाज्जातो ब्रह्मा शंकरशासनात्
viṣṇustatraiva suṣvāpa prakṛtyā svastriyā saha | tannābhikamalājjāto brahmā śaṃkaraśāsanāt
There itself Viṣṇu lay in yogic repose, together with Prakṛti, his own consort. From the lotus of his navel, Brahmā was born—according to the ordinance of Śaṅkara, Lord Śiva.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: creative
Cosmic Event: cosmogonic sequence: Viṣṇu’s yoganidrā and Brahmā’s birth from the navel-lotus
FAQs
It affirms Śiva (Śaṅkara) as the supreme Lord (Pati) whose ordinance empowers the cosmic roles of Viṣṇu and Brahmā, establishing a Shaiva Siddhānta view of divine governance behind creation.
By stating that Brahmā’s birth occurs through Śaṅkara’s command, the verse points to Saguna Śiva as the sovereign Lord worthy of worship—commonly approached through the Śiva-liṅga as the accessible emblem of that supreme authority.
A fitting takeaway is meditation on Śiva as the inner ruler while japa of the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—to align one’s will with Śaṅkara’s śāsana (divine ordinance).