Shloka 18
Kāla-vañcana (Overcoming/Outwitting Time) and the Pañcabhūta Basis of the Body
शब्दस्स्पर्शश्च रूपं च रसो गन्धश्च पंचमः । विजहाति गुणं स्वं स्वं तदा भूतं विपद्यते
śabdassparśaśca rūpaṃ ca raso gandhaśca paṃcamaḥ | vijahāti guṇaṃ svaṃ svaṃ tadā bhūtaṃ vipadyate
เสียง สัมผัส รูป รส และกลิ่นเป็นประการที่ห้า—เมื่อธาตุแต่ละอย่างละทิ้งคุณเฉพาะของตน ธาตุนั้นย่อมเสื่อมสลายเข้าสู่ลยะ; แต่ปติ—พระศิวะ—ดำรงเป็นฐานอันเหนือโลกอยู่เสมอ
Suta Goswami (narrating the Uma-saṃhitā teaching to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pasha
Cosmic Event: pralaya/laya principle (dissolution by guṇa-withdrawal)
FAQs
It teaches tattva-viveka: the five elements are known by their specific sense-qualities, and when those qualities withdraw, the elements dissolve—pointing the seeker to detach from sensory identifications and rest in Pati (Śiva), the unchanging Reality.
Linga-worship trains the mind to move from gross sense-objects (sound, touch, form, taste, smell) toward the subtle and then to the transcendent—seeing all manifested qualities as dissolvable, while the Linga signifies Śiva beyond dissolution.
A practical takeaway is pratyāhāra and dhyāna: withdraw the senses from their objects while japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) steadies awareness; apply bhasma (Tripuṇḍra) as a reminder that all bhūtas end in dissolution.