Chapter 15 - The form of the Supreme Lord

Sanatkumāra said:

1. O chieftain of the goblins, O highly intellgent, of great qualities, thou art omniscient, recount once more the grandeur of Śiva.

Śailādi said:

2. O sage, listen to the greatness of Siva which I shall tell you now. It has already been mentioned by many excellent sages in different words.

3. The wise speak of Śiva of the form of “Sat” and “Asat”^[1] as also the lord of “Sat” and “Asat” and the sages say also the same.

4. With the effect of the living beings for its second, the manifest^[2] is called existent and the unmanifest^[3] is called non-existent because it has no second.

5. Both the existent and the non-existent are the forms of Śiva. There is nothing else other than Śiva. Since he is the lord of both of them, Śiva is called Sadasatpati.

6. Some sages who ponder over realities speak of Śiva Maheśvara as kṣarākṣarātmaka^[4] identical with the perishable and the imperishable as well as that which is beyond.

7. The unmanifest is called imperishable and the manifest is cited as perishable. These are the two forms of Śaṅkara alone; and there is nothing greater^[5] than himself.

8. Śiva is greater than, both the perishable and the imperishable. So he i.e. Mahādeva Maheśvara, is verily called kṣarāksarapara by the learned.

9. On pondering over all forms of the manifest, it is found that they exist collectively and individually. Therefore, He (Śiva) is said to be the cause for Samaṣṭi and Vyaṣṭi.

10. Others^[6] speak of him as the greatest cause. The leading sages know Samaṣṭi as the unmanifest and Vyaṣṭi as the manifest.

11. These two are said to be the forms of Śiva. Their origin from another source is not possible. It is, indeed, by virtue of being the cause of both the collective and the individual that Śiva is known as Parameśvara.

12. Śiva is mentioned as the cause of both Samaṣṭi and Vyaṣṭi by those who are conversant with the yoga philosophy. By some Śiva is cited as existing in the form of body as well as soul.^[7]

13-14. Śiva, lord Parameśvara is the greatest Ātman, the greatest brilliance. The learned say that the twenty-four principles constitute the body and they speak of Puruṣa the enjoyer by the word Kṣetrajña. These two, viz., the Kṣetra and Kṣetrajña are the forms of that self-born deity.

15-18. The learned say that there is nothing else other than Śiva. They call the worldly matter consisting of elements, sense-organs, the inner organ, (will, etc.)^[8] Pradhāna etc. as the Aparabrahma^[9] form. Some say that Siva is in the form of the supreme Brahman and the lord has neither beginning nor end. The paramabrahman is of the form of consciousness. In fact, the form of Maheśa, Śiva the self-born deity is Brahman. It is that of Śaṅkara the great being. There is nothing other than Śiva. By some, Saṅkara is said to be of the form of Vidyā and Avidyā.

19. The primordial lord Śiva is the creator and ordainer of worlds. The leading sages call him alone as Vidyā and Avidyā.

20-26. The entire universe consists of these two forms of the self-born lord. The excellent forms of Śiva are Bhrānti, Vidyā and Param. Some sages^[10] who are conversant with the scriptural texts have attained the excellent form of Śiva by means of yoga. The perception of objects of multifarious forms is called Bhrānti. The cognition in the form of the Ātman is known as Vidyā. The principle devoid of alternatives or doubts is called Param which is the third form of Īśa. There is nothing else other than these three. By some he is said to be of the form of Vyakta, Avyakta and Jña. Parameśvara is the ordainer and the creator of all the worlds. Poets mean by the word Vyakta the twenty-three principles^[11] and by the word Avyakta the unmanifest Prakṛti. They denote Puruṣa, the enjoyer of the Guṇas. by the word Jña. These three are the forms of Śaṅkara. There is nothing else which is “not Śaṅkara.”

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

sad-asad-rūpa [rūpam].—According to Śivatoṣiṇī. this refers to the doctrine of Nyāya philosophy. The all-pervading ord is eternal (nitya) as well as non-eternal (anitya). This latter quality he derives from his functions as Jīva.

[2]:

Śivatoṣiṇī. offers another interpretation of ‘sad-asad’. ‘sad’ is manifest (vyakta) while ‘asad’ is unmanifest (avyakta). In fact, manifest (vyakta) and, unmanifest (avyakta) are the attributes of prakṛti-pradhāna while the lord is the cognizer (Jña) of both—prakṛti as well as pradhāna.

[3]:

The lord is kṣara—perishable as well as imperishable. Since he is all-pervasive, he identifies himself with the perishable beings, Jīva etc. he is therefore called kṣara. He is also called imperishable (akṣara) because he is ever existent.

[4]:

The lord is characterized by both forms—kṣara and akṣara (ubhe te Śivarūpe). He is rightly called naparaḥ (=aparaḥ), i.e. not any other. According to ST. this is Sāṅkhya doctrine.

[5]:

The lord is characterized by both forms—kṣara and akṣara (ubhe te Śivarūpe). He is rightly called naparaḥ (=aparaḥ), i.e. not any other. According to Śivatoṣiṇī. this is Sāṅkhya doctrine.

[6]:

ācāryāḥ. According to Śivatoṣiṇī, this refers to the yogins Matsyendra and others, but this purāṇa cannot be posterior to Matsyendra

[7]:

kṣetra-kṣetrajñarūpin—this refers to the doctrine of Vedāntins.

[8]:

apara-brahma-rūpa [rūpam]—śābda-brahmādirūpa [brahmādirūpam] Śivatoṣiṇī, of the form of brahma as sound.

[9]:

According to some ācāryas, the lord is identical with the subtle elements.

[10]:

According to Śivatoṣiṇī. this refers to yoga-vedāntins.

[11]:

The twenty-three tattvas constitute Prakṛti—the manifest form of pradhāna.