Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 15
सर्गविभागवर्णनम्
Classification of Creation: the Nine Sargas and the Streams of Beings
इत्येष प्रकृतेः सर्गः सम्भृतो ऽबुद्धिपूर्वकः । मुख्यसर्गश्चतुर्थस्तु मुख्या वै स्थावराः स्मृताः । तिर्यक्स्रोतस्तु यः प्रोक्तस्तिर्यग्योनिः स पञ्चमः । तदूर्ध्वस्रोतसः षष्ठो देवसर्गस्तु स स्मृतः
ityeṣa prakṛteḥ sargaḥ sambhṛto 'buddhipūrvakaḥ | mukhyasargaścaturthastu mukhyā vai sthāvarāḥ smṛtāḥ | tiryaksrotastu yaḥ proktastiryagyoniḥ sa pañcamaḥ | tadūrdhvasrotasaḥ ṣaṣṭho devasargastu sa smṛtaḥ
Ainsi est décrite la création issue de Prakṛti, d’abord produite sans que l’intelligence discriminante ne la précède. La quatrième est appelée « mukhya-sarga », la création principale, où les êtres immobiles (plantes et semblables) sont tenus pour les premiers. La cinquième, dite « tiryak-srotas » (au courant latéral), est la naissance des animaux. Au-dessus, la sixième—nommée « ūrdhva-srotas » (au courant ascendant)—est gardée en mémoire comme deva-sarga, la création des dieux.
Suta Goswami (narrating Purāṇic cosmology to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Sadyojāta
Role: creative
Cosmic Event: prākṛta sarga leading into mukhya/tiryak/ūrdhva-srotas orders
FAQs
It maps the graded unfolding of embodied life from Prakṛti—immovable, animal, and divine—showing how consciousness expresses through different channels (srotas). In Shaiva Siddhānta, this highlights that all embodied states remain within Prakṛti (pāśa) until grace turns the soul toward Shiva (Pati) and liberation.
By distinguishing levels of creation, the verse implicitly points to a reality beyond created orders. Linga-worship centers the devotee on Shiva as the transcendent Lord who stands above Prakṛti’s evolutes; Saguna Shiva becomes the accessible focus through which the soul rises from lower currents toward the upward path of divine orientation.
The practical takeaway is to cultivate the ‘upward current’ (ūrdhva-srotas) through Shiva-oriented sādhana—daily japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), vibhūti (Tripuṇḍra) as a reminder of transcendence over Prakṛti, and steady dhyāna on the Shiva-Linga to refine discrimination (buddhi).