Shloka 4

प्रलय-तत्त्वलयः, नीललोहित-रुद्रः, अष्टमूर्तिस्तवः, एवं ब्रह्मणो वैराग्यम्

Devanagari script

अहङ्कारमनुप्राप्य प्रलीनास्तत्क्षणादहो अभिमानस्तदा तत्र महान्तं व्याप्य वै क्षणात्

Transliteration

ahaṅkāramanuprāpya pralīnāstatkṣaṇādaho abhimānastadā tatra mahāntaṃ vyāpya vai kṣaṇāt

Translation

既至我执之理（ahaṅkāra），诸者当下即融没其中。继而于彼处，“我与我所”之执（abhimāna）刹那间迅疾遍满大智（Mahat，宇宙觉知）。

Word by Word

• अहङ्कारम्: the ego-principle (ahaṅkāra-tattva)

• अनुप्राप्य: having reached/attained

• प्रलीनाः: dissolved/merged

• तत्क्षणात्: at that very moment

• अहो: indeed/alas (exclamation)

• अभिमानः: self-identification, possessive ‘I’-sense

• तदा: then

• तत्र: there/in that principle

• महान्तम्: Mahat, cosmic intellect (buddhi-tattva)

• व्याप्य: pervading

• वै: indeed

• क्षणात्: in an instant.

Speaker

Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating the sṛṣṭi-tattva sequence to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)

Characters & Entities

• Mahat
• Ahaṅkāra

FAQs

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

It points to the root of bondage—abhimāna arising with ahaṅkāra and covering Mahat; Linga-worship is a Shaiva method to purify this egoic identification so the pashu (soul) turns toward Pati (Śiva) rather than pasha (bondage).

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

By showing how abhimāna rapidly pervades the inner principle (Mahat), the verse implies that liberation requires a higher, transcendent Pati beyond these evolutes—Śiva-tattva as the unbound Lord who is not limited by ahaṅkāra or its pervasions.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The yogic takeaway is ego-dissolution: in Pāśupata-oriented practice, one observes and sublates abhimāna through mantra-japa, dhyāna on the Liṅga, and discrimination (viveka) between Pati (Śiva) and the tattvas that constitute pasha.