Shloka 64

Devanagari script

ऐश्वर्याष्टदलं श्वेतं परं वैराग्यकर्णिकम् छिद्राणि च दिशो यस्य प्राणाद्याश् च प्रतिष्ठिताः

Transliteration

aiśvaryāṣṭadalaṃ śvetaṃ paraṃ vairāgyakarṇikam chidrāṇi ca diśo yasya prāṇādyāś ca pratiṣṭhitāḥ

Translation

یہ الوہی اقتدار کا سفید آٹھ پتیوں والا کنول ہے؛ اس کی اعلیٰ کرنیکا ویراغیہ ہے۔ جس کے سوراخ سمتیں ہیں، اس میں پران وغیرہ حیات بخش روئیں مضبوطی سے قائم ہیں۔

Word by Word

• aiśvarya: divine sovereignty, lordly power

• aṣṭa-dalam: eight-petalled (lotus)

• śvetam: white, pure

• param: supreme

• vairāgya: dispassion, renunciation

• karṇikam: pericarp/central core of the lotus

• chidrāṇi: openings, apertures

• diśaḥ: directions/quarters

• yasya: of which/whose

• prāṇa-ādyāḥ: beginning with prāṇa (prāṇa and allied vital winds)

• ca: and

• pratiṣṭhitāḥ: established, set firm

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana’s teaching to the sages of Naimisharanya, conveying an inner-worship description)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It shifts Linga-puja from outer form to inner contemplation: the Linga is mirrored as a pure lotus where aiśvarya (divine mastery) is stabilized by vairāgya (dispassion), making worship a disciplined inner rite (antaryāga).

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

Shiva as Pati is implied as the inner support of prāṇa and the directions—transcendent yet immanent—where true lordship (aiśvarya) is inseparable from freedom from attachment (vairāgya), indicating mastery over pāśa (bondage).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

A dhyāna-based Pāśupata-leaning practice: contemplate the inner lotus, steady the prāṇa-vāyus, and ground worship in vairāgya—turning sensory ‘openings’ (directions) into controlled gateways rather than sources of bondage.