Shloka 23
सृष्टिविस्तारप्रश्नः (Sṛṣṭi-vistāra-praśnaḥ) — The Detailed Inquiry into Creation
संकल्पायास्तु सत्यात्मा जज्ञे संकल्प एव हि । अयादया वसोः पुत्रा अष्टौ ताञ्छृणु शौनक
saṃkalpāyāstu satyātmā jajñe saṃkalpa eva hi | ayādayā vasoḥ putrā aṣṭau tāñchṛṇu śaunaka
Mula kay Saṅkalpā isinilang ang may kaluluwang tapat—si Saṅkalpa nga. At mula kay Ayā at sa iba pa isinilang ang walong anak na lalaki ni Vasu; pakinggan mo sila, O Śaunaka.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pasha
Sthala Purana: No Jyotirliṅga setting; the verse pivots from maternal genealogy to the principle of saṅkalpa (volition), a key Purāṇic device for explaining ordered manifestation.
Role: teaching
FAQs
The verse links truth (satyātmā) and intention (saṅkalpa) with cosmic lineage, implying that orderly creation and dharmic continuity arise from a truthful, rightly directed will—an idea consistent with Shaiva thought where the Lord’s śakti manifests worlds through divine resolve.
Though genealogical in form, it supports Purāṇic śravaṇa (devotional listening) as a limb of Saguna Shiva-bhakti: hearing the sacred history connected to Shiva’s cosmos purifies the mind and steadies one’s saṅkalpa toward worship, including Linga-upāsanā.
The direct instruction “chṛṇu” (hear) points to śravaṇa as practice—regular recitation/listening of Shiva Purana with a truthful saṅkalpa; this can be paired with simple Shaiva observances like japa of “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” before or after the reading.