Shloka 44

Adhyaya 8: Yogasthanas, Ashtanga Yoga, Pranayama-Siddhi, and Shiva-Dhyana leading to Samadhi

Devanagari script

चिद्भासमर्थमात्रस्य देहशून्यमिव स्थितम् समाधिः सर्वहेतुश् च प्राणायाम इति स्मृतः

Transliteration

cidbhāsamarthamātrasya dehaśūnyamiva sthitam samādhiḥ sarvahetuś ca prāṇāyāma iti smṛtaḥ

Translation

ಚೈತನ್ಯ-ಪ್ರಭೆಯ ಶಕ್ತಿಮಾತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಾಗಿ, ದೇಹವಿಲ್ಲದಂತೆ ಕಾಣುವ ಅವಸ್ಥೆಯೇ ‘ಪ್ರಾಣಾಯಾಮ’ ಎಂದು ಸ್ಮೃತಿಯಾಗಿದೆ; ಅದೇ ಸಮಾಧಿ ಮತ್ತು ಎಲ್ಲ ಯೋಗಸಿದ್ಧಿಗಳ ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಕಾರಣ.

Word by Word

• चित् (cit): consciousness

• भास (bhāsa): radiance/manifest light

• समर्थ (samartha): capable/potent

• मात्रस्य (mātrasya): of one who is only/solely

• देह (deha): body

• शून्यम् (śūnyam): empty/void

• इव (iva): as if

• स्थितम् (sthitam): abiding/established

• समाधिः (samādhiḥ): contemplative absorption

• सर्व (sarva): all

• हेतुः (hetuḥ): cause/means

• च (ca): and

• प्राणायामः (prāṇāyāmaḥ): breath-regulation/restraint of prāṇa

• इति (iti): thus

• स्मृतः (smṛtaḥ): is remembered/declared

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the teaching tradition of Pashupata Yoga within the Linga Purana)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It shifts worship from outer form to inner Linga—abidance in pure consciousness—showing prāṇāyāma as a direct support for internal Shiva-pūjā culminating in samādhi.

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

By emphasizing the “radiance of consciousness” beyond bodily identification, it points to Shiva as Pati—self-luminous cit—known when the pashu rests free of pasha-like body-bound limitation.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Prāṇāyāma in the Pashupata-Yoga sense: regulating prāṇa so awareness becomes body-transcending, ripening into samādhi as the principal means for yogic realization.