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

ಸೃಷ್ಟಿ ಅವ್ಯಕ್ತದಿಂದ ಉದ್ಭವಿಸುತ್ತದೆ; ಆ ಅವ್ಯಕ್ತವೂ ಈಶ್ವರನಿಂದಲೇ ಉಂಟಾಯಿತು ಎಂದು ಸ್ಮೃತಿಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಪರಮ ಕಾರಣತತ್ತ್ವವನ್ನು ತತ್ತ್ವಚಿಂತಕರು ‘ಪ್ರಧಾನ’ ಹಾಗೂ ‘ಪ್ರಕೃತಿ’ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ।

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.