Shloka 17
छायापुरुषलक्षणवर्णनम्
Description of the Marks of the Shadow-Person
खेचरा सा विनिर्दिष्टा सर्वप्राणिषु संस्थिता । दृश्यादृश्याचला नित्या व्यक्ताव्यक्ता सनातनी
khecarā sā vinirdiṣṭā sarvaprāṇiṣu saṃsthitā | dṛśyādṛśyācalā nityā vyaktāvyaktā sanātanī
She is declared to be ‘Khecarā’—moving in the inner space (kha). Abiding within all living beings, she is both seen and unseen; unmoving, eternal; both manifest and unmanifest—everlasting in her nature.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Significance: Internalizes tīrtha: the ‘khecarā’ śakti abiding in all beings is presented as the true sacred locus, shifting emphasis from external pilgrimage to inner realization.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: teaching
FAQs
It affirms the all-pervasive inner Divine Power (Shakti) that abides in every being, transcending opposites—seen/unseen and manifest/unmanifest—pointing to the steady, eternal reality realized through Shaiva contemplation.
Linga worship begins with a visible symbol (saguna support) yet leads the devotee to the invisible and unmanifest Shiva-Shakti that pervades all life; this verse explicitly bridges that movement from form to the formless.
Meditate in the inner ‘kha’ (heart/space of awareness) while reciting the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), stabilizing attention on the unmoving, eternal presence within—supporting japa and dhyāna as the path toward liberation.