Shloka 52

भुवनकोशस्वभाववर्णनम् — सप्तद्वीप-पर्वत-लोकविन्यासः तथा यक्ष-उमा-प्रकाशः

Devanagari script

गृहिणी प्रकृतिर्दिव्या प्रजाश् च महदादयः पशवः किङ्करास्तस्य सर्वे देहाभिमानिनः

Transliteration

gṛhiṇī prakṛtirdivyā prajāś ca mahadādayaḥ paśavaḥ kiṅkarāstasya sarve dehābhimāninaḥ

Translation

गृहिणी प्रकृतिर्दिव्या तस्योच्यते, प्रजाश्च महदादयः किङ्करवत्। सर्वेऽपि ते पशवो देहाभिमानिनः सन्तः तस्य दासत्वं वहन्ति॥

Word by Word

• गृहिणी (gṛhiṇī): consort, mistress of the house

• प्रकृतिः (prakṛtiḥ): Prakriti, primordial Nature

• दिव्या (divyā): divine, luminous

• प्रजाः (prajāḥ): progeny, created beings

• च (ca): and

• महदादयः (mahad-ādayaḥ): beginning with Mahat (cosmic intellect) and the subsequent evolutes

• पशवः (paśavaḥ): bound souls, individual beings under bondage

• किङ्कराः (kiṅkarāḥ): servants, attendants

• तस्य (tasya): of him (the Lord/Pati)

• सर्वे (sarve): all

• देहाभिमानिनः (dehābhimāninaḥ): those who identify with the body, ego-bound.

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana’s cosmology to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Prakriti
• Mahat

FAQs

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

It frames creation as dependent on the Lord (Pati): Prakriti and the tattvas serve him, while worship of the Linga trains the paśu to drop dehābhimāna and turn from bondage (pāśa) toward Shiva-consciousness.

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

Shiva is implied as Pati—the sovereign Lord to whom Prakriti and the evolutes (starting with Mahat) are subordinate; the world-process is not independent but functions under his lordship, while bound souls remain limited by body-identification.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The key yogic takeaway is removal of dehābhimāna (identification with the body), a foundational step for Pāśupata-oriented discipline—shifting identity from the limited paśu to devotion and surrender to Pati through Shiva-puja and inner detachment.