Shloka 1

Adhyaya 75: Nishkala–Sakala Shiva, Twofold Linga, and the Supremacy of Dhyana-Yajna

Devanagari script

इति श्रीलिङ्गमहापुराणे पूर्वभागे शिवलिङ्गभेदसंस्थापनादिवर्णनं नाम चतुःसप्ततितमो ऽध्यायः ऋषय ऊचुः निष्कलो निर्मलो नित्यः सकलत्वं कथं गतः वक्तुमर्हसि चास्माकं यथा पूर्वं यथा श्रुतम्

Transliteration

iti śrīliṅgamahāpurāṇe pūrvabhāge śivaliṅgabhedasaṃsthāpanādivarṇanaṃ nāma catuḥsaptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ ṛṣaya ūcuḥ niṣkalo nirmalo nityaḥ sakalatvaṃ kathaṃ gataḥ vaktumarhasi cāsmākaṃ yathā pūrvaṃ yathā śrutam

Translation

وهكذا، في «شري لِنگا مهاپورانا» في القسم الأوّل (پورڤا-بهاگا)، يبدأ الفصل الخامس والسبعون المسمّى «وصفُ أنواع شيفا-لِنگا وقواعدُ تنصيبه». قال الحكماء: «إنه الذي لا أجزاء له، الطاهرُ من الدنس، الأزليّ—فكيف بلغَ الربُّ نفسه حالةَ “سَكَلا” (المتجلّي بأجزاء)؟ فاشرَحْ لنا ذلك كما قيل من قبل وكما سمعناه في الموروث».

Word by Word

• iti: thus

• śrīliṅga-mahāpurāṇe: in the venerable Liṅga Mahāpurāṇa

• pūrva-bhāge: in the first section (Pūrva-bhāga)

• śiva-liṅga-bheda: the distinctions/types of the Śiva-Liṅga

• saṃsthāpana-ādi: installation and related rites

• varṇanam: description

• nāma: named

• catuḥsaptatitamaḥ: seventy-fifth

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter

• ṛṣayaḥ: the sages

• ūcuḥ: said

• niṣkalaḥ: without parts/attributes (transcendent)

• nirmalaḥ: immaculate/pure

• nityaḥ: eternal

• sakalatvam: the state of being with parts/manifest (immanent)

• katham: how

• gataḥ: attained/entered

• vaktum: to speak/explain

• arhasi: you ought/are able (please do)

• ca: and

• asmākam: to us

• yathā: as

• pūrvam: formerly

• yathā śrutam: as (it is) heard in scripture/tradition

Speaker

Ṛṣis (Sages of Naimiṣāraṇya), within Sūta’s narration framework