Shloka 22

Adhyaya 72 — Puradāha: Rudra’s Cosmic Chariot, Pāśupata-Vrata, and Brahmā’s Shiva-Stuti

Devanagari script

तलाः कपोताः कापोताः सर्वे तलनिवासिनः मेरुरेव महाछत्रं मन्दरः पार्श्वडिण्डिमः

Transliteration

talāḥ kapotāḥ kāpotāḥ sarve talanivāsinaḥ merureva mahāchatraṃ mandaraḥ pārśvaḍiṇḍimaḥ

Translation

तलाः कपोताः कापोताः सर्वे तलनिवासिनः; मेरुरेव महाछत्रं, मन्दरः पार्श्वडिण्डिमः।

Word by Word

• तलाः (talāḥ): the Talas (a class/group)

• कपोताः (kapotāḥ): Kapotas (a class/group)

• कापोताः (kāpotāḥ): Kāpotas (a class/group)

• सर्वे (sarve): all

• तलनिवासिनः (talanivāsinaḥ): inhabitants of Tala

• मेरुः एव (meruḥ eva): Meru indeed

• महाछत्रम् (mahāchatram): great umbrella/parasol (emblem of sovereignty)

• मन्दरः (mandaraḥ): Mount Mandara

• पार्श्व (pārśva): side/flank

• डिण्डिमः (ḍiṇḍimaḥ): kettle-drum/war-drum

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Meru
• Mandara

FAQs

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

By portraying Meru as a “mahāchatra” (royal parasol), the verse encodes cosmic kingship: the Linga is worshipped as Pati (the sovereign Lord) who presides over the ordered universe, and sacred geography becomes a support for meditative and ritual orientation.

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

Though Shiva is not named directly, the imagery of a central axis (Meru) and its attendant resonance (Mandara as a drum) aligns with Shaiva Siddhanta’s view of Pati as the stabilizing center of all worlds, around whom the manifested order of Pashu and Pasha is arranged.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

It points to dhyāna on the cosmic axis (Meru-dhyāna): orienting worship and inner contemplation toward the central principle—useful in Pashupata-style contemplation where the practitioner (pashu) turns from bondage (pāśa) toward the Lord (pati).