Shloka 60

Adhyaya 4: अहोरात्र-युग-मन्वन्तर-कल्पमान तथा प्रलयान्ते सृष्ट्युपक्रमः

Devanagari script

स्रष्टुं तदा मतिं चक्रे ब्रह्मा ब्रह्मविदां वरः उदकैराप्लुतां क्ष्मां तां समादाय सनातनः

Transliteration

sraṣṭuṃ tadā matiṃ cakre brahmā brahmavidāṃ varaḥ udakairāplutāṃ kṣmāṃ tāṃ samādāya sanātanaḥ

Translation

تب برہما، جو برہما-ودیا کے جاننے والوں میں افضل تھا، نے تخلیق کا ارادہ باندھا۔ پانیوں سے ہر طرف ڈوبی ہوئی اُس ازلی زمین کو سنبھال کر اس نے ظہورِ آفرینش کا کام شروع کیا۔

Word by Word

• स्रष्टुम्: to create

• तदा: then

• मतिम्: intention, resolve

• चक्रे: made, formed

• ब्रह्मा: Brahmā

• ब्रह्मविदाम्: of the knowers of Brahman/Vedic wisdom

• वरः: the best, foremost

• उदकैः: by waters

• आप्लुताम्: inundated, flooded

• क्ष्माम्: the Earth

• ताम्: that

• समादाय: having taken up, having gathered/raised

• सनातनः: the eternal one (here, Brahmā as timeless in the cosmic cycle)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the cosmogony to the sages; verse describes Brahma’s action)

Characters & Entities

• Brahma

FAQs

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

It establishes the srishti-background: before Linga-installation and Shiva-upasana are taught, the Purana frames creation as an ordered emergence from the primal waters—preparing the theological ground where the Linga later appears as the supreme stabilizing principle (Pati) behind all manifestation.

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

Though Shiva is not named here, the Shaiva Siddhanta reading treats Brahmā’s creative resolve as secondary and instrumental—creation proceeds within the larger sovereignty of Pati (Shiva), while pashus (souls) remain bound by pasha until Shiva’s grace and right worship are revealed later in the text.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse highlights sankalpa (firm resolve) as the seed of action—mirroring the preparatory discipline in Pashupata-oriented practice where purity of intention precedes ritual (puja) and inner yoga.