Shloka 183

Adhyaya 70: आदिसर्गः—महत्-अहङ्कार-तन्मात्रा-भूतसृष्टिः, ब्रह्माण्डावरणम्, प्रजासर्गः, त्रिमूर्ति-शैवाधिष्ठानम्

Devanagari script

दक्षमत्रिं वसिष्ठं च सो ऽसृजन्मानसान् नव नव ब्रह्माण इत्येते पुराणे निश्चयं गताः

Transliteration

dakṣamatriṃ vasiṣṭhaṃ ca so 'sṛjanmānasān nava nava brahmāṇa ityete purāṇe niścayaṃ gatāḥ

Translation

അവൻ മനസ്സുകൊണ്ടുതന്നെ ദക്ഷൻ, അത്രി, വസിഷ്ഠൻ എന്നിവരെ സൃഷ്ടിച്ചു—ഇങ്ങനെ ഒമ്പത് മനോജാത പ്രജാപതികൾ. പുരാണത്തിൽ ഇവരെയാണ് ഉറപ്പോടെ ‘നവ ബ്രഹ്മാക്കൾ’ എന്ന് പ്രസ്താവിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• दक्षम (dakṣam): Dakṣa

• अत्रिं (atriṁ): Atri

• वसिष्ठं (vasiṣṭham): Vasiṣṭha

• च (ca): and

• सः (saḥ): he (Brahmā)

• असृजत् (asṛjat): created, emanated

• मानसान् (mānasān): mind-born, born of thought

• नव (nava): nine

• नव (nava): nine (emphatic repetition)

• ब्रह्माणः (brahmāṇaḥ): Brahmās/creator-lords/progenitors

• इति (iti): thus

• एते (ete): these

• पुराणे (purāṇe): in the Purāṇa

• निश्चयं (niścayaṁ): certainty, settled conclusion

• गताः (gatāḥ): are accepted/attained (as established).

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the creation account, with Brahma as the acting creator within the narrative)

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Daksha
• Atri
• Vasistha

FAQs

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

It situates Linga-centered Shaiva teaching within a larger cosmology: ordered creation proceeds through mind-born progenitors, while Shiva as Pati remains the transcendent ground beyond all created agents.

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

By describing Brahmā’s derivative creative function through mental emanation, the verse implicitly supports a Shaiva Siddhanta hierarchy where all sṛṣṭi is within the realm of Pāśa, while Shiva-tattva (Pati) is the independent, supreme principle not produced by creation.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific puja-vidhi is stated; the takeaway is contemplative: creation is presented as mānasa (mind-born), aligning with yogic insight that the cosmos is experienced through mind and is ultimately to be transcended by Pashupata-oriented devotion to Pati (Shiva).