Shloka 97
पुरुषत्वादिगर्भो हि गर्भवाञ्जनको यतः । पुरुषात्प्रकृतो युक्तं प्रथमं जन्म कथ्यते
puruṣatvādigarbho hi garbhavāñjanako yataḥ | puruṣātprakṛto yuktaṃ prathamaṃ janma kathyate
Because the embodied progenitor (Brahmā) bears within himself the seed of “puruṣa-hood” and the rest, the first birth is said to be the arising of Prakṛti in conjunction with Puruṣa.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Sadyojāta
Significance: Interprets cosmogony as the first ‘birth’—Prakṛti conjoined with Puruṣa—helping pilgrims read creation as dependent on the Lord and His power rather than autonomous matter.
Role: creative
Cosmic Event: Cosmogonic ‘first birth’ (prathama-janma) described as Puruṣa–Prakṛti conjunction initiating manifestation.
FAQs
It frames creation as the initial conjunction of consciousness (Puruṣa) and primordial nature (Prakṛti), implying that bondage and experience arise only when the soul-conscious principle is associated with nature—while Shiva (Pati) remains the transcendent Lord who enables and governs the process.
By distinguishing Puruṣa and Prakṛti as the basis of manifested existence, the verse supports Linga worship as contemplation of Shiva as Pati—beyond both—while also approachable as Saguna Shiva who presides over creation, sustenance, and dissolution.
Meditate on Shiva as the witnessing Lord distinct from Prakṛti, and reinforce that insight through japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), cultivating disidentification from the guṇas and turning the mind toward liberation.