Shloka 4

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

Devanagari script

अरेषु तेषु विप्रेन्द्राश् चादित्या द्वादशैव तु शशिनः षोडशारेषु कला वामस्य सुव्रताः

Transliteration

areṣu teṣu viprendrāś cādityā dvādaśaiva tu śaśinaḥ ṣoḍaśāreṣu kalā vāmasya suvratāḥ

Translation

ஓ பிராமணச் சிறந்தவரே! அந்த அரைகளில் பன்னிரண்டு ஆதித்யர்கள் அமர்ந்துள்ளனர்; சந்திரனின் பதினாறு அரைகளில் இடப்புறத்தில் சுபமான ஒழுங்கில் பதினாறு கலைகள் நிலைபெற்றுள்ளன।

Word by Word

• अरेषु (areṣu): on the spokes

• तेषु (teṣu): on those

• विप्रेन्द्राः (viprendrāḥ): O chiefs among the Brahmins

• च (ca): and

• आदित्याः (ādityāḥ): the Ādityas (solar deities)

• द्वादश (dvādaśa): twelve

• एव (eva): indeed

• तु (tu): moreover

• शशिनः (śaśinaḥ): of the Moon

• षोडशारेषु (ṣoḍaśāreṣu): on the sixteen spokes

• कलाः (kalāḥ): phases/portions (lunar digits)

• वामस्य (vāmasya): of the left side

• सुव्रताः (suvratāḥ): the well-ordained/auspiciously established ones

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Adityas
• Chandra (Shashin)
• Kalas (lunar phases)

FAQs

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

It encodes how the cosmos is ritually mapped onto Shiva’s emblem: the solar Ādityas and lunar kalās are assigned to specific spokes, turning Linga-pūjā into a worship of the whole cosmic order as resting in Pati (Śiva).

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

By placing sun and moon principles within the sacred diagram, the verse implies Śiva-tattva as the transcendental ground that contains and governs time (solar months) and change (lunar phases), while remaining the inner Lord of all devatās.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The left-side (vāma) placement points to lunar/ida symbolism used in Shaiva sādhanā—harmonizing lunar kalās with worship and inner discipline, supporting Pāśupata-style purification of the paśu from pāśa through ordered observance.