Shloka 157

वासिष्ठकथनम् (आदित्य–सोमवंशवर्णनम् तथा रुद्रसहस्रनाम-प्रशंसा)

Devanagari script

कला काष्ठा लवो मात्रा मुहूर्तो ऽहः क्षपा क्षणः विश्वक्षेत्रप्रदो बीजं लिङ्गमाद्यस्तु निर्मुखः

Transliteration

kalā kāṣṭhā lavo mātrā muhūrto 'haḥ kṣapā kṣaṇaḥ viśvakṣetraprado bījaṃ liṅgamādyastu nirmukhaḥ

Translation

هو الزمانُ نفسُه—كلا (kalā) وكاشتها (kāṣṭhā) ولافا (lava) وماترا (mātrā) وموهورتا (muhūrta)، والنهارُ والليلُ واللحظة. يمنحُ حقلَ الكون (viśva-kṣetra) وهو البذرة (bīja): اللِّينغا الأوّل، الأزليّ بلا بداية، بلا وجهٍ ظاهر، المتعالي عن كلِّ صورةٍ محدودة.

Word by Word

• kalā: a unit/part of time

• kāṣṭhā: a measure of time

• lavaḥ: a minute fraction of time

• mātrā: a measure/instant

• muhūrtaḥ: a muhūrta (traditional time period)

• ahaḥ: day

• kṣapā: night

• kṣaṇaḥ: moment

• viśva-kṣetra-pradaḥ: giver/bestower of the universe as a field (of experience/action)

• bījam: seed, causal source

• liṅgam: the Linga, sign of the Absolute, Shiva’s aniconic form

• ādyaḥ: primordial, first

• tu: indeed

• nirmukhaḥ: faceless, without a (limited) mouth/face, formless/transcendent

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames the Linga as the primordial causal seed (bīja) and the very principle of Time, so Linga-pūjā becomes worship of the source that measures and sustains all cosmic processes.

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

Shiva is shown as Pati beyond limiting form—“nirmukha” (faceless)—yet immanent as Kāla, the inner regulator of day, night, and every instant, and as the giver of the universe-field (kṣetra).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The takeaway is contemplative Linga-upāsanā: meditate on the Linga as Kāla and bīja, loosening pāśa (bondage) by seeing all moments and experiences as arising within Shiva’s kṣetra.