Shloka 4
स एव हि द्विधा जातः पुंस्त्रीरूपप्रभेदतः । यः पुमान्स शिवः ख्यातः स्त्रीशक्तिस्सा हि कथ्यते
sa eva hi dvidhā jātaḥ puṃstrīrūpaprabhedataḥ | yaḥ pumānsa śivaḥ khyātaḥ strīśaktissā hi kathyate
He alone has become two, differentiated as the male and the female forms. The male is renowned as Śiva, and the female is indeed spoken of as His Śakti (power).
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Ardhanārīśvara
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: creative
Offering: pushpa
Cosmic Event: Polarization of the one reality into Śiva (puruṣa) and Śakti (strī) as the basis for manifest cosmos and its governance.
FAQs
It teaches that the one Supreme Reality manifests as Śiva (conscious Lord, Pati) and Śakti (His inseparable power), so liberation is gained by recognizing their non-separation while worshipping their manifest forms.
Liṅga worship honors Śiva as the Supreme, yet it implicitly includes Śakti because Śiva is never without His power; thus Saguna devotion to Śiva is devotion to the Śiva–Śakti unity that sustains creation and grace.
Meditate on Śiva with Śakti as one reality while chanting the Pañcākṣarī mantra (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and perform simple liṅga-pūjā with bhakti, holding the intent that divine consciousness and divine power are inseparable.