मूलप्रकृतेः रूपकल्पनायां युक्तिःWhy a form is imagined for Mūlaprakṛti
Verse 4
श्रीसदाशिव उवाच । उपासकानां कार्याय पुरैव कथितं प्रिये । गुणक्रियानुसारेण रूपं देव्याः प्रकल्पितम् ॥ ४ ॥
śrīsadāśiva uvāca | upāsakānāṁ kāryāya puraiva kathitaṁ priyē | guṇakriyānusārēṇa rūpaṁ dēvyāḥ prakalpitam || 4 ||
Translation
Śrī Sadāśiva said: Beloved, I said long ago that the form of the Devī is imagined according to her qualities and actions, for the sake of those who worship her.
Word by word
- upāsakānāṁ
- of the worshippers
- kāryāya
- for the sake
- purā
- long ago
- ēva
- indeed
- kathitaṁ
- it was said
- priyē
- beloved
- guṇa
- qualities
- kriyā
- and actions
- anusārēṇa
- (anusāreṇa) according to
- rūpaṁ
- the form
- dēvyāḥ
- of the Devī
- prakalpitam
- is imagined
Meaning
Śiva answers in ten verses. The commentary is plain: the form is "prakalpita", imagined for the worshipper's need, "and not real". What follows explains each feature of Kālī's image as a sign of what she is and does, so that the figure becomes a lesson rather than a portrait.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
To this Śrī Sadāśiva gave the answer in ten verses beginning "upāsakānām". O beloved, it was said before that the form of the Devī, Mahākālī, is imagined according to her qualities and actions for the sake of her worshippers, the people who worship, and is not real.