Shloka 18
Kāla-vañcana (Overcoming/Outwitting Time) and the Pañcabhūta Basis of the Body
शब्दस्स्पर्शश्च रूपं च रसो गन्धश्च पंचमः । विजहाति गुणं स्वं स्वं तदा भूतं विपद्यते
śabdassparśaśca rūpaṃ ca raso gandhaśca paṃcamaḥ | vijahāti guṇaṃ svaṃ svaṃ tadā bhūtaṃ vipadyate
Le son, le toucher, la forme, la saveur et l’odeur comme cinquième : lorsque chaque principe élémentaire abandonne sa qualité propre, alors cet élément s’effondre et entre en dissolution. (En se retirant des guṇa, les bhūta manifestés se résorbent, tandis que Pati—Śiva—demeure le fondement transcendant.)
Suta Goswami (narrating the Uma-saṃhitā teaching to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pasha
Cosmic Event: pralaya/laya principle (dissolution by guṇa-withdrawal)
FAQs
It teaches tattva-viveka: the five elements are known by their specific sense-qualities, and when those qualities withdraw, the elements dissolve—pointing the seeker to detach from sensory identifications and rest in Pati (Śiva), the unchanging Reality.
Linga-worship trains the mind to move from gross sense-objects (sound, touch, form, taste, smell) toward the subtle and then to the transcendent—seeing all manifested qualities as dissolvable, while the Linga signifies Śiva beyond dissolution.
A practical takeaway is pratyāhāra and dhyāna: withdraw the senses from their objects while japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) steadies awareness; apply bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) as a reminder that all bhūtas end in dissolution.