Shloka 1
बन्धमोक्षवर्णनम्
Bondage and Liberation: The Prakṛti–Karma Wheel and Śiva as the Transcendent Cause
ऋषयः ऊचुः । बंधमोक्षस्वरूपं हि ब्रूहि सर्वार्थवित्तम । सूत उवाच । बंधमोक्षं तथोपायं वक्ष्येऽहं शृणुतादरात्
ṛṣayaḥ ūcuḥ | baṃdhamokṣasvarūpaṃ hi brūhi sarvārthavittama | sūta uvāca | baṃdhamokṣaṃ tathopāyaṃ vakṣye'haṃ śṛṇutādarāt
Para resi berkata: “Wahai yang mengetahui makna segala sesuatu, jelaskanlah sesungguhnya hakikat belenggu dan pembebasan.” Sūta berkata: “Aku akan menghuraikan belenggu dan pembebasan, serta jalan untuk mencapainya—dengarlah dengan penuh hormat dan khusyuk.”
Suta Goswami (responding to the sages of Naimisharanya)
Shiva Form: Dakṣiṇāmūrti
Role: teaching
FAQs
It introduces a core Shaiva Siddhanta theme: understanding bondage (pāśa) and liberation (mokṣa) and the practical means to transcend limitation through Shiva-centered knowledge and discipline.
By framing moksha as something attained through an “upāya” (method), it prepares for Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā’s emphasis on Shiva worship—often through Saguna forms like the Linga—as a direct, purifying path toward liberation.
The verse itself signals attentive śravaṇa (reverent listening) as the first practice; in the Vidyeśvara context, this typically unfolds into Shiva-upāsanā such as japa of the Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and disciplined worship.