Shloka 45

Adhyaya 70: आदिसर्गः—महत्-अहङ्कार-तन्मात्रा-भूतसृष्टिः, ब्रह्माण्डावरणम्, प्रजासर्गः, त्रिमूर्ति-शैवाधिष्ठानम्

Devanagari script

सशब्दस्पर्शरूपं च रसमात्रं समाविशत् तस्माच्चतुर्गुणा आपो विज्ञेयास्तु रसात्मिकाः

Transliteration

saśabdasparśarūpaṃ ca rasamātraṃ samāviśat tasmāccaturguṇā āpo vijñeyāstu rasātmikāḥ

Translation

శబ్ద-స్పర్శ-రూపములతో యుక్తమైన తత్త్వంలో తరువాత కేవలం రస-తన్మాత్ర ప్రవేశించింది. అందువల్ల ఆపః (జలము) నాలుగు గుణములతో, రసాత్మకముగా తెలుసుకోవలెను.

Word by Word

• स-शब्द (sa-śabda): possessing sound

• स्पर्श (sparśa): touch

• रूपम् (rūpam): form/colour

• च (ca): and

• रस-मात्रम् (rasa-mātram): taste alone, the taste-principle

• समाविशत् (samāviśat): entered/merged into

• तस्मात् (tasmāt): therefore/from that

• चतुर्गुणाः (catur-guṇāḥ): having four qualities

• आपः (āpaḥ): the waters/element water

• विज्ञेयाः (vijñeyāḥ): to be known/understood

• तु (tu): indeed

• रस-आत्मिकाः (rasātmikāḥ): whose nature/essence is taste

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the cosmological teaching within the Linga Purana to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It gives the tattvic basis for āpaḥ (water) as taste-dominant and four-qualitied, explaining why water is primary in Shiva-linga abhiṣeka: it carries rasa and supports purification of the pashu (soul) under the grace of Pati (Shiva).

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

Shiva-tattva is implied as the transcendent Pati who empowers ordered manifestation—tanmātras and bhūtas arise in sequence, while Shiva remains the controller beyond sound, touch, form, and taste, binding and releasing pashus from pāśa through his śakti.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Tattva-śuddhi and sense-restraint: in Pāśupata-oriented practice, one contemplates water as rasa-essence and disciplines taste (rasa-indriya), aligning inner purification with outer rites like jalābhiṣeka to Mahādeva.