Shloka 146

वासिष्ठकथनम् (आदित्य–सोमवंशवर्णनम् तथा रुद्रसहस्रनाम-प्रशंसा)

Devanagari script

रत्नभूतो ऽथ रत्नाङ्गो महार्णवनिपातवित् मूलं विशालो ह्यमृतं व्यक्ताव्यक्तस्तपोनिधिः

Transliteration

ratnabhūto 'tha ratnāṅgo mahārṇavanipātavit mūlaṃ viśālo hyamṛtaṃ vyaktāvyaktastaponidhiḥ

Translation

അവൻ രത്നസ്വരൂപൻ, രത്നമയ അവയവങ്ങളുള്ളവൻ; മഹാർണവത്തിലേക്കുള്ള അവതരണത്തെ അറിയുന്നവൻ. അവൻ മൂലകാരണം, വിശാലൻ; അവൻ തന്നെയാണ് അമൃതം, മരണമറ്റത്. അവൻ വ്യക്തവും അവ്യക്തവും; തപസ്സിന്റെ നിധി—അങ്ങനെയാണവൻ, പതി ഭഗവാൻ ശിവൻ।

Word by Word

• रत्नभूतः (ratnabhūtaḥ): one who is the essence/source of jewels

• अथ (atha): and then/also

• रत्नाङ्गः (ratnāṅgaḥ): whose limbs are jewel-like, gem-bodied

• महार्णव (mahārṇava): the great ocean (cosmic waters)

• निपात (nipāta): descent/immersion/fall

• वित् (vit): knower

• मूलम् (mūlam): root, first cause

• विशालः (viśālaḥ): vast, all-pervading

• हि (hi): indeed

• अमृतम् (amṛtam): deathless nectar/immortality

• व्यक्त-अव्यक्तः (vyakta-avyaktaḥ): manifest and unmanifest

• तपोनिधिः (tapo-nidhiḥ): treasury of austerity/spiritual power

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Shiva Sahasranama within the Linga Purana to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames the Linga as the mūla (root-cause) and amṛta (immortality) itself—guiding the devotee to worship not merely a symbol, but Pati (Śiva) who pervades both the visible and invisible.

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

Śiva is presented as vyakta-avyakta—simultaneously manifest in form and unmanifest beyond form—while remaining viśāla (all-pervading), the deathless ground of all beings (Pashus) and their liberation from Pāśa (bondage).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The epithet taponidhiḥ emphasizes tapas and disciplined Pāśupata-oriented sādhanā: sustained austerity, mantra-japa, and contemplative absorption on the Linga as the vast, deathless Reality.