Shloka 16
Praṇava-Māhātmya and the Twofold Mantra (Sūkṣma–Sthūla) in Śaiva Sādhanā
भूवायुकनकार्णोद्योःशब्दाद्याश्च तथा दश । आशान्वयेदशपुनः प्रवृत्ता इति कथ्यते
bhūvāyukanakārṇodyoḥśabdādyāśca tathā daśa | āśānvayedaśapunaḥ pravṛttā iti kathyate
Earth, wind, agni (fire/gold), water, and light (ākāśa/space), together with the ten beginning with sound—these are said to make ten. Again, another ten arise in connection with the directions (āśā); thus it is declared.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya in the Vidyeshvara/Viśveśvarasaṃhitā context)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Īśāna
Role: creative
FAQs
It classifies manifested reality into enumerated categories (tattvas), implying that the world of elements and sensory potentials is a structured emergence; in Shaiva Siddhanta, knowing these as dependent manifestations helps the soul (paśu) turn toward Shiva (Pati) for liberation.
By listing the building-blocks of experience (elements and sound etc.), the text points to what is transcended in Linga-worship: the devotee offers the sensory and elemental world back to Shiva, recognizing the Linga as the support and governor of all categories.
A practical takeaway is tattva-śuddhi (purification of elements) during japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), mentally offering sound and the other sense-potentials into Shiva while maintaining Tripuṇḍra-bhasma and a steady inner recollection.