Shloka 36

बन्धमोक्षवर्णनम्

Bondage and Liberation: The Prakṛti–Karma Wheel and Śiva as the Transcendent Cause

Devanagari script

बिंदुनादमयं लिंगं स्थावरं जंगमं च यत् । भावनामयमेतद्धि शिवदृष्टं न संशयः

Transliteration

biṃdunādamayaṃ liṃgaṃ sthāvaraṃ jaṃgamaṃ ca yat | bhāvanāmayametaddhi śivadṛṣṭaṃ na saṃśayaḥ

Translation

ലിംഗം ബിന്ദു-നാദമയമാണ്; അത് സ്ഥാവരവും ജംഗമവും—ഇരുവിധമായും വ്യാപിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു. ഇത് ഭാവനാമയമായ അനുഭവം തന്നേ; സംശയമില്ല, ഇത് ശിവന്റെ ദൃഷ്ടിയാണ്.

Word by Word

• bindu-nāda-mayam: consisting of bindu and nāda
• bindu-nāda-mayam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bindu (प्रातिपदिक) + nāda (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (समास) ‘bindu-nāda’ as content; ‘maya’ = consisting of; Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; agrees with ‘liṅgam’

• liṅgam: the liṅga
• liṅgam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• sthāvaram: immovable
• sthāvaram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthāvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; agrees with ‘liṅgam’

• jaṅgamam: movable
• jaṅgamam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jaṅgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; agrees with ‘liṅgam’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• yat: which/that
• yat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; relative ‘which/that’ referring to liṅga

• bhāvanā-mayam: made of contemplation/mental formation
• bhāvanā-mayam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhāvanā (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa ‘bhāvanāyāḥ mayaḥ/ bhāvanā-maya’; Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate adjective

• etat: this
• etat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphasis/causal nuance

• śiva-dṛṣṭam: seen/approved by Śiva
• śiva-dṛṣṭam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + √dṛś (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa ‘śivena dṛṣṭam’ (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष); Kṛdanta PPP (क्त), Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate adjective

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध निपात)

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s doctrine of the Liṅga to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: Universalizes the liṅga beyond a single shrine: bindu-nāda ontology makes all sthāvara-jaṅgama a field for recognizing Śiva; pilgrimage becomes internalized as bhāvanā (contemplative realization).

Shakti Dimension

Shakti Form: Pārvatī

Role: creative

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It teaches that the Liṅga is not merely a physical icon but the very principle of manifestation—Bindu (source/seed) and Nāda (vibration)—recognized through bhāvanā (contemplative realization) as Śiva’s revealed truth.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

Liṅga-worship here is Saguna devotion that opens into the deeper reality: Śiva pervades both sthāvara and jaṅgama, so honoring the Liṅga is honoring the Lord present in all forms while pointing beyond form to the inner principle (Bindu-Nāda).

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Meditate on the Liṅga with steady bhāvanā—seeing all moving and unmoving existence as Śiva’s presence—while supporting practice with japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) during Liṅga-pūjā.