Shloka 68

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

Devanagari script

अहस्तस्य तु या सृष्टिः रात्रिश् च प्रलयः स्मृतः नाहस्तु विद्यते तस्य न रात्रिरिति धारयेत्

Transliteration

ahastasya tu yā sṛṣṭiḥ rātriś ca pralayaḥ smṛtaḥ nāhastu vidyate tasya na rātririti dhārayet

Translation

‘హస్తములు గలవాడు’ అంటే దేహధారి, పరిమితుడైనవాడికి సృష్టి ‘పగలు’గా, ప్రళయం ‘రాత్రి’గా చెప్పబడుతుంది. కానీ ‘అహస్తుడు’ అయిన పరాత్పర పతి శివునికి పగలు లేదు, రాత్రి లేదు—ఇదే స్థిరమైన సిద్ధాంతమని ధారించాలి।

Word by Word

• ahastasya: of the handless (formless, transcendent)

• tu: however/indeed

• yā: which

• sṛṣṭiḥ: creation/emanation

• rātriḥ: night

• ca: and

• pralayaḥ: dissolution/withdrawal

• smṛtaḥ: is remembered/declared

• na: not

• ahastu: handless (without hands)

• vidyate: exists/is found

• tasya: for him/of that One

• na: not

• rātriḥ: night

• iti: thus

• dhārayet: one should hold/understand firmly

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Purāṇic doctrine to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames the Liṅga as the sign of the formless, “handless” Pati (Śiva) who is beyond temporal alternations like day/night—guiding the worshipper to contemplate transcendence, not merely cosmic events.

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

Śiva-tattva is presented as akartṛ in the ultimate sense—beyond time-markers of manifestation and withdrawal. Day/night belong to embodied limitation (pāśa-bound pashu), not to the transcendent Lord (Pati).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

A contemplative Pāśupata-style insight is implied: during pūjā or dhyāna, the sādhaka fixes awareness on Śiva as timeless and formless, loosening pāśa (bondage) born of time-bound dualities.