Shloka 23
सृष्टिविस्तारप्रश्नः (Sṛṣṭi-vistāra-praśnaḥ) — The Detailed Inquiry into Creation
संकल्पायास्तु सत्यात्मा जज्ञे संकल्प एव हि । अयादया वसोः पुत्रा अष्टौ ताञ्छृणु शौनक
saṃkalpāyāstu satyātmā jajñe saṃkalpa eva hi | ayādayā vasoḥ putrā aṣṭau tāñchṛṇu śaunaka
From Saṅkalpā was born the truthful-souled one—Saṅkalpa indeed. And from Ayā and the rest were born the eight sons of Vasu; hear of them, O Śaunaka.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Sthala Purana: No Jyotirliṅga setting; the verse pivots from maternal genealogy to the principle of saṅkalpa (volition), a key Purāṇic device for explaining ordered manifestation.
Role: teaching
FAQs
The verse links truth (satyātmā) and intention (saṅkalpa) with cosmic lineage, implying that orderly creation and dharmic continuity arise from a truthful, rightly directed will—an idea consistent with Shaiva thought where the Lord’s śakti manifests worlds through divine resolve.
Though genealogical in form, it supports Purāṇic śravaṇa (devotional listening) as a limb of Saguna Shiva-bhakti: hearing the sacred history connected to Shiva’s cosmos purifies the mind and steadies one’s saṅkalpa toward worship, including Linga-upāsanā.
The direct instruction “chṛṇu” (hear) points to śravaṇa as practice—regular recitation/listening of Shiva Purana with a truthful saṅkalpa; this can be paired with simple Shaiva observances like japa of “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” before or after the reading.