Shloka 23
विष्णोर्दर्शनं स्तुतिश्च
Viṣṇu’s Manifestation and Brahmā’s Hymn
धर्मो वक्षःस्थलात्कामो मनसोन्योपि देहतः । जातास्तत्र सुतां दृष्ट्वा मम मोहो भवद्धरे
dharmo vakṣaḥsthalātkāmo manasonyopi dehataḥ | jātāstatra sutāṃ dṛṣṭvā mama moho bhavaddhare
ധർമ്മൻ (എന്റെ) വക്ഷസ്ഥലത്തിൽ നിന്നു ജനിച്ചു, കാമൻ (എന്റെ) മനസ്സിൽ നിന്നു; മറ്റൊരാളും (സത്ത) എന്റെ ദേഹത്തിൽ നിന്നു ഉദ്ഭവിച്ചു. എന്നാൽ അവിടെ ആ പുത്രിയെ കണ്ടപ്പോൾ, ഹേ ധരാധര, എനിക്കു മോഹം ഉദിച്ചു.
Brahma (narrating within the Sati Khanda context)
Tattva Level: pashu
Significance: Shows how even a creator-deity becomes a paśu under māyā: desire and delusion arise upon perception of beauty; pilgrimage and worship are implicitly medicines for kāma-moha through Śiva’s purifying presence.
FAQs
It highlights that even exalted cosmic functions (Dharma, Kāma, etc.) arise from subtle sources (chest, mind, body), yet delusion (moha) can still manifest—showing the binding power of māyā and the Shaiva Siddhanta emphasis that liberation requires purification and ultimately Shiva’s grace.
By exposing the instability of mind-born desire and the rise of moha, the text implicitly points seekers toward steadiness through Saguna Shiva worship—Linga-pūjā, mantra, and devotion—which disciplines the mind and redirects desire into bhakti leading toward Shiva-realization.
A practical takeaway is to counter kāma and moha with daily Panchākṣarī japa (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), wearing rudrākṣa for steadiness of mind, and applying tripuṇḍra-bhasma as a remembrance of impermanence and Shiva’s purifying presence.