Shloka 98

Adhyaya 89: शौचाचारलक्षणम् — सदाचार, भैक्ष्यचर्या, प्रायश्चित्त, द्रव्यशुद्धि, आशौच-निर्णय

Devanagari script

मैथुनात्कामतो विप्रास् तथैव परुषादिभिः यवाद्याः सम्प्रजायन्ते ग्राम्यारण्याश्चतुर्दश

Transliteration

maithunātkāmato viprās tathaiva paruṣādibhiḥ yavādyāḥ samprajāyante grāmyāraṇyāścaturdaśa

Translation

ஓ விப்ரர்களே, காமத்தால் நிகழும் மைதுனத்திலிருந்தும், மேலும் பருஷம் முதலிய நிலைகளின் செயல்முறையிலிருந்தும், யவம் முதலிய தானியங்கள் பதினான்கு வகையாக—கிராமியமும் காடுசார்ந்ததும்—உண்டாகின்றன।

Word by Word

• maithunāt: from sexual union

• kāmataḥ: from desire (kāma-driven impulse)

• viprāḥ: O brāhmaṇas/sages

• tathā eva: and likewise/just so

• paruṣa-ādibhiḥ: from the series beginning with the coarse/rough (conditions or modes)

• yavādyāḥ: barley and other grains

• samprajāyante: are generated/come into being

• grāmya: domesticated/cultivated

• āraṇyāḥ: wild/forest

• caturdaśa: fourteen

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It situates material creation within a Shaiva cosmology where manifested forms arise through prakritic processes and desire; Linga worship then reorients the pashu (soul) away from kama-as-pasha toward Pati (Shiva), the transcendent ground beyond creation.

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

By implying that desire-driven generation belongs to the realm of manifested nature, it indirectly contrasts Shiva-tattva as Pati—unconditioned, not compelled by kama—while the world of varieties unfolds under his overarching lordship.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific puja-vidhi is stated; the takeaway for Pashupata-oriented practice is vairagya toward kama (as pasha) and steadiness in Shiva-dhyana, using creation’s multiplicity as a prompt to seek the Linga’s unifying, transcendent reality.