Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 71
सर्गविभागवर्णनम्
Classification of Creation: the Nine Sargas and the Streams of Beings
महदाद्योविशेषांतो विकारः प्रकृतेः स्वयम् । चंद्रसूर्यप्रभाजुष्टो ग्रहनक्षत्रमंडितः । नदीभिश्च समुद्रैश्च पर्वतैश्च स मंडितः । परैश्च विविधैरम्यैस्स्फीतैर्जनपदैस्तथा
mahadādyoviśeṣāṃto vikāraḥ prakṛteḥ svayam | caṃdrasūryaprabhājuṣṭo grahanakṣatramaṃḍitaḥ | nadībhiśca samudraiśca parvataiśca sa maṃḍitaḥ | paraiśca vividhairamyaissphītairjanapadaistathā
महत् पासून विशेष (स्थूल तत्त्वे) पर्यंत हा सर्व विश्वप्रपंच प्रकृतीचाच स्वयंसिद्ध विकार आहे। चंद्र-सूर्यांच्या प्रभेने शोभित, ग्रह-नक्षत्रांनी अलंकृत; नद्या, समुद्र व पर्वतांनी सजलेला, तसेच इतर अनेक विविध, रम्य व समृद्ध जनपदांनी विभूषित आहे।
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Role: creative
FAQs
It frames the world as Prakṛti’s transformation—an ordered, beautiful field of experience—so the seeker can discern the created (vikāra) from the Lord (Pati) who transcends yet governs it, turning perception into discrimination that supports liberation.
By describing the cosmos as a product of Prakṛti, the verse implicitly points to Shiva as the transcendent Lord beyond Prakṛti; in Saguna worship, the Linga becomes the focused symbol through which the mind withdraws from the many ornaments of creation and rests in the one Lord.
Practice tattva-vicāra (discernment): contemplate the universe—from Mahat to the visible heavens and earth—as mutable Prakṛti, then steady the mind in Shiva through japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) as the unchanging refuge.