Shloka 56

Adhyaya 70: आदिसर्गः—महत्-अहङ्कार-तन्मात्रा-भूतसृष्टिः, ब्रह्माण्डावरणम्, प्रजासर्गः, त्रिमूर्ति-शैवाधिष्ठानम्

Devanagari script

आकाशेनावृतो वायुः खं तु भूतादिनावृतम् भूतादिर्महता चापि अव्यक्तेनावृतो महान्

Transliteration

ākāśenāvṛto vāyuḥ khaṃ tu bhūtādināvṛtam bhūtādirmahatā cāpi avyaktenāvṛto mahān

Translation

风为虚空（ākāśa，太空/以太）所包覆；虚空又为“bhūtādi”（原初元素）所包覆。bhūtādi复为“大我”（Mahat）所包覆；而大我又为“未显”（Avyakta）所包覆——那微细的因地，万象由此显现，亦在主宰帕提（Pati，湿婆）摄持下归入其中。

Word by Word

• ākāśena: by ether/space

• āvṛtaḥ: enveloped/covered

• vāyuḥ: air/wind principle

• khaṃ: ether/space (kha)

• tu: and/indeed

• bhūtādinā: by bhūtādi (the primal element/ahaṅkāra-tattva source of elements)

• āvṛtam: enveloped

• bhūtādiḥ: the bhūtādi principle

• mahatā: by Mahat (cosmic intellect)

• ca api: also/indeed

• avyaktena: by the Unmanifest (Prakṛti/avyakta)

• āvṛtaḥ: enveloped

• mahān: Mahat/the Great Principle

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the cosmology of dissolution/envelopment to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames Linga-upasana as moving inward from gross to subtle—elements to their causes—so the devotee withdraws (pratyāhāra) from bhūtas and rests awareness in the causal ground, ultimately seeking Pati (Shiva) beyond all coverings.

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

By listing successive coverings up to Avyakta, it implies Shiva-tattva as the Lordly principle not limited by these evolutes; He is Pati, the sovereign witness and liberator of the pashu from pasha constituted by the tattvic layers.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

A yogic takeaway is laya/saṃhāra-bhāvanā: meditative dissolution of attention from air to ether to causal principles, supporting Pashupata-oriented inner worship (mānasa-pūjā) alongside external Linga-pūjā.