Shloka 43

Adhyaya 17: लिङ्गोद्भव—ब्रह्मविष्ण्वहङ्कार-शमनं, ओंकार-प्रादुर्भावः, मन्त्र-तत्त्वं च

Devanagari script

वाराहमसितं रूपम् आस्थाय गतवानधः एवं वर्षसहस्रं तु त्वरन्विष्णुरधोगतः

Transliteration

vārāhamasitaṃ rūpam āsthāya gatavānadhaḥ evaṃ varṣasahasraṃ tu tvaranviṣṇuradhogataḥ

Translation

In dunkler Gestalt als Varāha, der Eber, stieg Viṣṇu hinab. So eilte Viṣṇu weiter abwärts tausend Jahre lang, um die untere Grenze (des endlosen Liṅga) zu finden.

Word by Word

• वाराहम् (vārāham): boar-form

• असितम् (asitam): dark, black-hued

• रूपम् (rūpam): form

• आस्थाय (āsthāya): having assumed, taking refuge in

• गतवान् (gatavān): went

• अधः (adhaḥ): downward, below

• एवम् (evam): thus

• वर्षसहस्रम् (varṣa-sahasram): a thousand years

• तु (tu): indeed, and

• त्वरन् (tvaran): hurrying, with speed

• विष्णुः (viṣṇuḥ): Vishnu

• अधोगतः (adho-gataḥ): gone downward, descended.

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Shiva
• Linga

FAQs

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

It establishes the Linga as immeasurable and beginningless-endless; worship is therefore directed to Shiva as the transcendent Pati beyond spatial limits, not to a finite object.

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

By showing Vishnu unable to reach the lower end even after a thousand years, the verse implies Shiva-tattva as Ananta—beyond pramāṇa (measure) and the grasp of even the highest deities—while remaining the ground of all manifestation.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The takeaway is Pashupata-oriented humility and surrender: the seeker (pashu) abandons pride in power or speed and turns to devotion and inner discipline, recognizing the Pati as limitless.