Shloka 3

Adhyaya 70: आदिसर्गः—महत्-अहङ्कार-तन्मात्रा-भूतसृष्टिः, ब्रह्माण्डावरणम्, प्रजासर्गः, त्रिमूर्ति-शैवाधिष्ठानम्

Devanagari script

च्रेअतिओन् फ़्रोम् अव्यक्त अव्यक्तं चेश्वरात्तस्माद् अभवत्कारणं परम् प्रधानं प्रकृतिश्चेति यदाहुस्तत्त्वचिन्तकाः

Transliteration

creation from avyakta avyaktaṃ ceśvarāttasmād abhavatkāraṇaṃ param pradhānaṃ prakṛtiśceti yadāhustattvacintakāḥ

Translation

La création procède de l’Inmanifesté (Avyakta) ; et l’Inmanifesté naît du Seigneur. Ainsi, le principe causal suprême—nommé Pradhāna et aussi appelé Prakṛti—est ce qu’affirment ceux qui méditent la réalité (tattva).

Word by Word

• sṛṣṭiḥ: creation

• avyaktāt: from the unmanifest

• avyaktam: the unmanifest principle

• ca: and

• īśvarāt: from the Lord (Īśvara/Pati)

• tasmāt: therefore/from that

• abhavat: came to be/arose

• kāraṇam: cause

• param: supreme

• pradhānam: Pradhāna (primordial matrix of nature)

• prakṛtiḥ: Prakṛti (primordial nature)

• ca: and

• iti: thus

• yat: which/that

• āhuḥ: (they) say/declare

• tattva-cintakāḥ: thinkers of tattva, contemplators of ultimate principles.

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the cosmological teaching within the Purva-Bhaga context)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It grounds Linga devotion in cosmology: the Lord (Pati) is prior to and the source of even the unmanifest Prakṛti/Pradhāna, so Linga worship is directed to the supreme causal Shiva beyond all manifest and unmanifest nature.

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

Shiva is indicated as Īśvara—the transcendent Pati—from whom avyakta itself proceeds; thus Shiva-tattva is not a product of Prakṛti but the sovereign cause that stands above the tattvas of nature.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse supports tattva-vicāra used in Pāśupata-oriented practice: discriminating Pati (Lord) from Prakṛti/Pradhāna (Pāśa) and the bound soul (Paśu), which informs inner worship (bhāva-pūjā) and meditative absorption on Shiva as the supreme cause.