Shloka 12

अविद्या-पञ्चक, नवसर्ग-क्रमः, प्रजापति-प्रसवः

Vibhaga 1, Adhyaya 5

Devanagari script

संकल्पश्चैव धर्मश् च ह्य् अधर्मो धर्मसंनिधिः द्वादशैव प्रजास्त्वेता ब्रह्मणो ऽव्यक्तजन्मनः

Transliteration

saṃkalpaścaiva dharmaś ca hy adharmo dharmasaṃnidhiḥ dvādaśaiva prajāstvetā brahmaṇo 'vyaktajanmanaḥ

Translation

意志（Saṅkalpa）、法（Dharma）、非法（Adharma）以及“法之临在/法之所依”——此等即为梵天（Brahmā）自无显（Avyakta）而生的十二种生类原则（prajā）。由是宇宙依正法之秩序与其反面而展开，而主宰帕提（Pati）恒为内在见证，超越一切显现。

Word by Word

• संकल्पः (saṅkalpaḥ): volition, formative intention

• च एव (ca eva): and indeed

• धर्मः (dharmaḥ): cosmic law, virtue, sustaining order

• च (ca): and

• हि (hi): indeed

• अधर्मः (adharmaḥ): non-law, disorder, vice

• धर्मसंनिधिः (dharma-saṃnidhiḥ): proximity/presence or seat of dharma, the condition in which dharma is established

• द्वादश (dvādaśa): twelve

• एव (eva): only/precisely

• प्रजाः (prajāḥ): progenitive beings/principles, generative emanations

• तु (tu): but/indeed

• एताः (etāḥ): these

• ब्रह्मणः (brahmaṇaḥ): of Brahmā (the creator)

• अव्यक्तजन्मनः (avyakta-janmanaḥ): whose birth/origin is from the Unmanifest (avyakta).

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the creation account to the sages, with the Purana’s internal cosmology centered on Brahmā’s emanations under Shiva’s supreme oversight)

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Shiva

FAQs

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

By listing dharma and adharma among Brahmā’s emanations from the Unmanifest, the verse frames worldly merit and sin as part of manifested order—encouraging Linga worship as a means to turn the pashu away from pāśa and toward Pati, who stands beyond both.

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

Though Shiva is not explicitly ‘enumerated’ here, the verse implies a Shaiva metaphysics: Brahmā arises from the avyakta, while the supreme Pati (Shiva-tattva) is the transcendent ground and inner witness, not confined to dharma/adharma which bind the pashu.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The takeaway aligns with Pāśupata orientation: cultivate saṅkalpa purified by dharma (right intention and conduct) and stabilize the mind toward the Unmanifest through Shiva-upāsanā (Linga-pūjā, mantra-japa), reducing the bonds of adharma that function as pāśa.