Shloka 79

Adhyaya 17: लिङ्गोद्भव—ब्रह्मविष्ण्वहङ्कार-शमनं, ओंकार-प्रादुर्भावः, मन्त्र-तत्त्वं च

Devanagari script

पकारमुदरं तस्य फकारः पार्श्वमुच्यते बकारो वामपार्श्वं वै भकारं स्कन्धमस्य तत्

Transliteration

pakāramudaraṃ tasya phakāraḥ pārśvamucyate bakāro vāmapārśvaṃ vai bhakāraṃ skandhamasya tat

Translation

ആ ലിംഗ-മന്ത്രദേഹത്തിൽ ‘പ’ അവന്റെ ഉദരം; ‘ഫ’ അവന്റെ പാർശ്വം; ‘ബ’ തീർച്ചയായും ഇടത് പാർശ്വം; ‘ഭ’ അവന്റെ സ്കന്ധം (തോൾ) എന്നു പറയുന്നു.

Word by Word

• पकारम् (pakāram): the syllable ‘pa’

• उदरम् (udaram): belly/abdomen

• तस्य (tasya): of that (Lord/Linga-form)

• फकारः (phakāraḥ): the syllable ‘pha’

• पार्श्वम् (pārśvam): side/flank

• उच्यते (ucyate): is said/declared

• बकारः (bakāraḥ): the syllable ‘ba’

• वामपार्श्वम् (vāma-pārśvam): left side

• वै (vai): indeed/verily

• भकारम् (bhakāram): the syllable ‘bha’

• स्कन्धम् (skandham): shoulder

• अस्य (asya): of Him/of this

• तत् (tat): that (is)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga’s mantra-body symbolism within the Purva-Bhaga discourse)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches mantra-nyāsa: the practitioner meditatively installs syllables as Shiva’s limbs, converting Linga-pūjā into embodied contemplation where the Linga is experienced as the living Pati.

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

Shiva-tattva is presented as both transcendent and immanent: the formless Linga becomes knowable through sound (śabda), where phonemes reveal a divine body without limiting His infinite nature.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Mantra-nyāsa and dhyāna are highlighted—assigning syllables to body-parts as a Pāśupata-oriented internal worship that loosens pāśa (bondage) of the paśu (soul) by fixing awareness on Pati (Shiva).