Shloka 47

Devanagari script

वैराजो वै निषादश् च मुख्यो वै मेघवाहनः पञ्चमश्चित्रकश्चैव आकूतिर् ज्ञान एव च

Transliteration

vairājo vai niṣādaś ca mukhyo vai meghavāhanaḥ pañcamaścitrakaścaiva ākūtir jñāna eva ca

Translation

വൈരാജൻ, നിഷാദൻ, മുഖ്യ മേഘവാഹനൻ, അഞ്ചാമൻ ചിത്രകൻ, കൂടാതെ ആകൂതി—ഇവയെല്ലാം പ്രഭു പതിയുടെ സൃഷ്ടിവിസ്താരത്തിൽ ‘ജ്ഞാനം’ എന്നറിയപ്പെടുന്ന വംശപരമ്പരകളായി എണ്ണപ്പെടുന്നു।

Word by Word

• वैराजः (vairājaḥ): Vairāja (a progenitor/name in the creation list)

• वै (vai): indeed

• निषादः (niṣādaḥ): Niṣāda (a named being/lineage)

• च (ca): and

• मुख्यः (mukhyaḥ): the foremost/chief

• मेघवाहनः (meghavāhanaḥ): Meghavāhana ("cloud-borne"

• पञ्चमः (pañcamaḥ): the fifth

• चित्रकः (citrakaḥ): Citraka (a named being/lineage)

• च एव (ca eva): and also/indeed

• आकूतिः (ākūtiḥ): Ākūti (a named being/lineage

• ज्ञानः (jñānaḥ): knowledge/gnosis

• एव (eva): indeed/alone

• च (ca): and

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Purva-Bhaga creation sequence to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It situates Linga-worship within the larger Shaiva cosmology: creation proceeds in ordered lineages under Pati (Shiva), and recognizing this order supports devotion to the Linga as the causal ground of all manifested names and forms.

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

By implying that even enumerated beings and their functions arise within a principled order rooted in jñāna, it points to Shiva-tattva as Pati—the sovereign source of manifestation and the light of knowing that governs srishti.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific external rite is stated; the takeaway is jñāna-oriented practice—cultivating discriminative knowledge in a Shaiva frame (Pashupata-aligned) to weaken pasha (bondage) for the pashu (soul) under the grace of Pati.