Shloka 52

भुवनकोशस्वभाववर्णनम् — सप्तद्वीप-पर्वत-लोकविन्यासः तथा यक्ष-उमा-प्रकाशः

Devanagari script

गृहिणी प्रकृतिर्दिव्या प्रजाश् च महदादयः पशवः किङ्करास्तस्य सर्वे देहाभिमानिनः

Transliteration

gṛhiṇī prakṛtirdivyā prajāś ca mahadādayaḥ paśavaḥ kiṅkarāstasya sarve dehābhimāninaḥ

Translation

La Prakṛti divine est dite être son épouse; et la descendance, à commencer par Mahat, est comme son entourage dépendant. Tous ceux-là—étant des paśus, âmes liées—agissent en serviteurs, car ils sont absorbés par l’identification au corps.

Word by Word

• गृहिणी (gṛhiṇī): consort, mistress of the house

• प्रकृतिः (prakṛtiḥ): Prakriti, primordial Nature

• दिव्या (divyā): divine, luminous

• प्रजाः (prajāḥ): progeny, created beings

• च (ca): and

• महदादयः (mahad-ādayaḥ): beginning with Mahat (cosmic intellect) and the subsequent evolutes

• पशवः (paśavaḥ): bound souls, individual beings under bondage

• किङ्कराः (kiṅkarāḥ): servants, attendants

• तस्य (tasya): of him (the Lord/Pati)

• सर्वे (sarve): all

• देहाभिमानिनः (dehābhimāninaḥ): those who identify with the body, ego-bound.

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana’s cosmology to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Prakriti
• Mahat

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It frames creation as dependent on the Lord (Pati): Prakriti and the tattvas serve him, while worship of the Linga trains the paśu to drop dehābhimāna and turn from bondage (pāśa) toward Shiva-consciousness.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Shiva is implied as Pati—the sovereign Lord to whom Prakriti and the evolutes (starting with Mahat) are subordinate; the world-process is not independent but functions under his lordship, while bound souls remain limited by body-identification.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The key yogic takeaway is removal of dehābhimāna (identification with the body), a foundational step for Pāśupata-oriented discipline—shifting identity from the limited paśu to devotion and surrender to Pati through Shiva-puja and inner detachment.