Shloka 56

क्षुपस्य विष्णुदर्शनं, वैष्णवस्तोत्रं, दधीचविवादः, स्थानेश्वरतीर्थमाहात्म्यं

Devanagari script

देवाश् च दुद्रुवुः सर्वे ध्वस्तवीर्या द्विजोत्तम ससर्ज भगवान् विष्णुः स्वदेहात्पुरुषोत्तमः

Transliteration

devāś ca dudruvuḥ sarve dhvastavīryā dvijottama sasarja bhagavān viṣṇuḥ svadehātpuruṣottamaḥ

Translation

Alle Götter flohen, ihre Kraft zerschmettert, o Bester der Zweimalgeborenen. Da ließ der erhabene Viṣṇu—Puruṣottama—aus seinem eigenen Leib eine Manifestation hervorgehen.

Word by Word

• देवाः: the gods (devas)

• च: and

• दुद्रुवुः: fled, ran away

• सर्वे: all

• ध्वस्त-वीर्याः: with strength/valor shattered, bereft of potency

• द्विज-उत्तम: O best of the twice-born (address to a brahmin/sage)

• ससर्ज: created, emitted, brought forth

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord

• विष्णुः: Viṣṇu

• स्व-देहात्: from his own body

• पुरुष-उत्तमः: Puruṣottama, the Supreme Person

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Devas

FAQs

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

It shows the devas’ impotence when cosmic balance fails; in the Linga Purana’s Shaiva frame, stability is ultimately restored through alignment with Pati (Shiva) and the higher principle of divine manifestation, which Linga-worship ritualizes.

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

Indirectly: even when Viṣṇu manifests power, the narrative setting in the Linga Purana typically points to a higher Shaiva causality—Pati as the ultimate ground—before whom devas’ limited energies collapse and are reconstituted through divine order.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The takeaway is not a specific rite but a Shaiva yogic principle: when pashu (the dependent being) loses vīrya through pasha (fear, disorder, ignorance), power returns by re-centering on the Supreme—later expressed in the text through Linga-puja, mantra, and Pāśupata-oriented discipline.