Shloka 12

अविद्या-पञ्चक, नवसर्ग-क्रमः, प्रजापति-प्रसवः

Vibhaga 1, Adhyaya 5

Devanagari script

संकल्पश्चैव धर्मश् च ह्य् अधर्मो धर्मसंनिधिः द्वादशैव प्रजास्त्वेता ब्रह्मणो ऽव्यक्तजन्मनः

Transliteration

saṃkalpaścaiva dharmaś ca hy adharmo dharmasaṃnidhiḥ dvādaśaiva prajāstvetā brahmaṇo 'vyaktajanmanaḥ

Translation

సంకల్పం, ధర్మం, అధర్మం మరియు ‘ధర్మ-సన్నిధి’—అవ్యక్తజన్ముడైన బ్రహ్ముని ఈ ద్వాదశ ప్రజలు (ప్రజాజనక తత్త్వాలు). వీటివల్ల నియమం మరియు దాని విరుద్ధం విస్తరిస్తాయి; ప్రభువు (పతి) అంతరసాక్షిగా నిలిచివుంటాడు.

Word by Word

• संकल्पः (saṅkalpaḥ): volition, formative intention

• च एव (ca eva): and indeed

• धर्मः (dharmaḥ): cosmic law, virtue, sustaining order

• च (ca): and

• हि (hi): indeed

• अधर्मः (adharmaḥ): non-law, disorder, vice

• धर्मसंनिधिः (dharma-saṃnidhiḥ): proximity/presence or seat of dharma, the condition in which dharma is established

• द्वादश (dvādaśa): twelve

• एव (eva): only/precisely

• प्रजाः (prajāḥ): progenitive beings/principles, generative emanations

• तु (tu): but/indeed

• एताः (etāḥ): these

• ब्रह्मणः (brahmaṇaḥ): of Brahmā (the creator)

• अव्यक्तजन्मनः (avyakta-janmanaḥ): whose birth/origin is from the Unmanifest (avyakta).

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the creation account to the sages, with the Purana’s internal cosmology centered on Brahmā’s emanations under Shiva’s supreme oversight)

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Shiva

FAQs

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

By listing dharma and adharma among Brahmā’s emanations from the Unmanifest, the verse frames worldly merit and sin as part of manifested order—encouraging Linga worship as a means to turn the pashu away from pāśa and toward Pati, who stands beyond both.

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

Though Shiva is not explicitly ‘enumerated’ here, the verse implies a Shaiva metaphysics: Brahmā arises from the avyakta, while the supreme Pati (Shiva-tattva) is the transcendent ground and inner witness, not confined to dharma/adharma which bind the pashu.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The takeaway aligns with Pāśupata orientation: cultivate saṅkalpa purified by dharma (right intention and conduct) and stabilize the mind toward the Unmanifest through Shiva-upāsanā (Linga-pūjā, mantra-japa), reducing the bonds of adharma that function as pāśa.