Shloka 5
Śiva–Hari–Rudra–Vidhīnāṃ Tattva-nirṇayaḥ
Identity of Śiva, Viṣṇu, Rudra, and Brahmā; Nirguṇa–Saguṇa Reconciliation
संभाव्य मायया युक्तस्तत्र सुप्तो हरिस्स वै । नारायणेति विख्यातः प्रकृतिर्नारायणी मता
saṃbhāvya māyayā yuktastatra supto harissa vai | nārāyaṇeti vikhyātaḥ prakṛtirnārāyaṇī matā
There, Hari (Viṣṇu), joined with Māyā and sustained by her power, lay in yogic sleep. He became renowned as “Nārāyaṇa,” and that Prakṛti (Nature), in this teaching, is regarded as “Nārāyaṇī.”
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shakti Form: Lalitā
Role: creative
Cosmic Event: Cosmic yogic sleep motif (pralaya/creation-threshold imagery)
FAQs
It highlights Māyā and Prakṛti as operative powers in cosmic manifestation: even exalted deities function within the framework of Māyā, while Shaiva teaching ultimately places Pati (Śiva) as the supreme transcendent Lord beyond bondage.
By describing Māyā’s role in names, forms, and cosmic states (like yogic sleep), it implicitly points devotees toward Saguna worship—such as the Śiva-liṅga—where the Lord is approached in a merciful, graspable form while remembering His transcendence beyond Māyā.
A practical takeaway is japa with the Panchākṣarī (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) while contemplating the difference between the Self and Māyā—using devotion to Śiva as the means to cross Prakṛti’s binding power.