Adhyaya 17: लिङ्गोद्भव—ब्रह्मविष्ण्वहङ्कार-शमनं, ओंकार-प्रादुर्भावः, मन्त्र-तत्त्वं च
किमिदं त्विति संचिन्त्य मया तिष्ठन्महास्वनम् लिङ्गस्य दक्षिणे भागे तदापश्यत्सनातनम्
kimidaṃ tviti saṃcintya mayā tiṣṭhanmahāsvanam liṅgasya dakṣiṇe bhāge tadāpaśyatsanātanam
“यह क्या है?” ऐसा विचार कर मैं उस महान् नाद को सुनता हुआ स्थिर रहा। तब लिङ्ग के दक्षिण भाग में मैंने सनातन प्रभु—पति शिव—का दर्शन किया।
Brahma (within Suta's narration)
It frames the Linga as a revelatory axis: the devotee (here, Brahma) moves from wonder and the experience of mahāsvana (sacred reverberation) to direct darśana of the Sanātana Pati, showing the Linga as the doorway to Shiva’s self-disclosure.
Shiva is indicated as Sanātana—eternal, beginningless Pati—who is not merely a form within creation but the abiding reality that can be directly known when the bonds (pāśa) of confusion are loosened by insight.
The verse emphasizes attentive stillness and contemplation in the presence of the Linga, with mahāsvana suggesting nāda as an inner sign; this aligns with Shaiva contemplative practice where focused awareness leads to Shiva-darśana.