Shloka 24
हंस-वराह-रूपग्रहण-कारणम्
The Reason for Assuming the Swan and Boar Forms
अतोऽण्डमभवत्तत्र चतुर्विंशतिसंज्ञ कम् । विराड्रूपमभूद्विप्र जलरूपमपश्यतः
ato'ṇḍamabhavattatra caturviṃśatisaṃjña kam | virāḍrūpamabhūdvipra jalarūpamapaśyataḥ
Thereupon, in that primeval condition, the cosmic Egg came into being, known as the “twenty-fourfold” (constituted of the twenty-four principles). O brāhmaṇa, it became the form of Virāṭ, the Cosmic Person, though in appearance it seemed as water.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Sadyojāta
Role: creative
Cosmic Event: cosmogony: emergence of brahmāṇḍa (cosmic egg) and virāṭ-appearance; primordial waters motif
FAQs
It presents the universe as an ordered manifestation—an ‘egg’ structured by the twenty-four tattvas—yet appearing as mere watery undifferentiatedness until true discernment arises, pointing to the need for right knowledge (jñāna) to see beyond appearance.
The Virāṭ form represents Saguna manifestation—the cosmos as a perceivable body—while its water-like appearance hints that without devotion and insight, the divine order is not recognized. Linga-worship trains the mind to perceive Shiva as the inner reality supporting all forms.
A practical takeaway is tattva-vicāra (contemplation on the principles of manifestation) supported by japa of the Panchākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—to move from seeing creation as mere appearance to recognizing Shiva as its ground.