Shloka 2

आभ्यन्तरध्यान-तत्त्वगणना-चतुर्व्यूहयोगः

Adhyaya 28

Devanagari script

तस्योपरि महादेवं निष्कलं सकलाकृतिम् कान्तार्धरूढदेहं च पूजयेद्ध्यानविद्यया

Transliteration

tasyopari mahādevaṃ niṣkalaṃ sakalākṛtim kāntārdharūḍhadehaṃ ca pūjayeddhyānavidyayā

Translation

在那林伽之上，应以禅观之学而礼拜大天（摩诃提婆）——湿婆既为尼什迦罗（无分、超越形相），亦为娑迦罗（示现有相）；其身安立为爱侣之半，成就湿婆—夏克蒂的半女半男（阿尔达那利）合一。

Word by Word

• tasya upari: above that (upon/over it)

• mahādevam: Mahādeva, the Great Lord (Pati)

• niṣkalam: without parts, attributeless, transcendent

• sakala-ākṛtim: having a manifest, formed appearance

• kāntā-ardha-rūḍha-deham: whose body is occupied/established as half by the beloved (Ardhanārī/Śiva-Śakti union)

• ca: and

• pūjayet: one should worship

• dhyāna-vidyayā: by the knowledge/discipline of meditation (dhyāna).

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva-puja/dhyana-vidhi to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Parvati

FAQs

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

It instructs that Linga-pūjā is completed not merely by external offerings but by dhyāna-vidyā—contemplating Shiva above/within the Linga as both the transcendent Pati (niṣkala) and the immanent, worship-accessible form (sakala).

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

Shiva-tattva is presented as niṣkala (beyond parts, qualities, and limitation) while also sakala (capable of manifest form for grace), and as inseparable from Shakti—signified by the ‘half-beloved’ body (Ardhanārī), the unity through which bondage (pāśa) is dissolved for the pashu (soul).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

A dhyāna-based upāsanā: meditative worship during Linga-pūjā, aligning the practitioner’s awareness from the sakala icon to the niṣkala reality—an inner movement consistent with Pāśupata-oriented contemplation of Pati as the liberator.