Shloka 3

Adhyaya 75: Nishkala–Sakala Shiva, Twofold Linga, and the Supremacy of Dhyana-Yajna

Devanagari script

शब्दादिविषयं ज्ञानं ज्ञानमित्यभिधीयते तज्ज्ञानं भ्रान्तिरहितम् इत्यन्ये नेति चापरे

Transliteration

śabdādiviṣayaṃ jñānaṃ jñānamityabhidhīyate tajjñānaṃ bhrāntirahitam ityanye neti cāpare

Translation

ശബ്ദാദി വിഷയങ്ങളെ ആശ്രയിക്കുന്ന ബോധം ‘ജ്ഞാനം’ എന്നു വിളിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു. ചിലർ പറയുന്നു—ഭ്രാന്തിയില്ലാത്ത ബോധം തന്നെയാണ് ജ്ഞാനം; മറ്റുചിലർ ‘നേതി’ എന്നു പറഞ്ഞു ഇതിനെ പൂർണ്ണ നിർവചനമല്ലെന്ന് നിഷേധിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• śabda-ādi: sound and the rest (sense-objects)

• viṣayam: having as its object/field

• jñānam: cognition, knowledge

• jñānam iti: as “knowledge”

• abhidhīyate: is stated/defined

• tat jñānam: that knowledge

• bhrānti-rahitam: free from error/delusion

• iti: thus

• anye: others (some teachers)

• na iti: ‘no’/not so

• ca: and

• apare: other teachers/others

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating doctrinal definitions within the Purva-Bhaga discourse)

FAQs

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

It frames “knowledge” as a topic of discernment: in Linga-worship and Shaiva practice, the devotee must refine ordinary sense-based cognition into error-free insight so devotion (bhakti) and ritual (puja) are guided by right understanding rather than bhrānti.

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

By contrasting bhrānti and true jñāna, it implies Shiva (Pati) as the ground of non-deluded awareness; liberation of the pashu requires knowledge aligned with Shiva-tattva, not merely sense-object cognition.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Viveka (discriminative discernment) central to Pashupata-oriented sadhana: examining cognition, rejecting delusion, and stabilizing right knowledge that loosens pasha (bondage).