Shloka 1

Bhūtavana–Kailāsa–Mandākinī–Rudrapurī: Śiva’s Jeweled Abodes and Perpetual Worship

Devanagari script

इति श्रीलिङ्गमहापुराणे पूर्वभागे भुवनविन्यासोद्देशस्थानवर्णनं नाम पञ्चाशत्तमो ऽध्यायः सूत उवाच देवकूटे गिरौ मध्ये महाकूटे सुशोभने हेमवैडूर्यमाणिक्यनीलगोमेदकान्तिभिः

Transliteration

iti śrīliṅgamahāpurāṇe pūrvabhāge bhuvanavinyāsoddeśasthānavarṇanaṃ nāma pañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ sūta uvāca devakūṭe girau madhye mahākūṭe suśobhane hemavaiḍūryamāṇikyanīlagomedakāntibhiḥ

Translation

So beginnt im Śrī Liṅga-Mahāpurāṇa, im Pūrvabhāga, das fünfzigste Kapitel mit dem Titel „Beschreibung der bezeichneten Orte in der Anordnung der Welten“. Sūta sprach: Auf dem Berg Devakūṭa, inmitten des herrlich strahlenden Mahākūṭa, leuchtete es im Glanz von Gold, Beryll, Rubin, Saphir und dem Edelstein Gomeda.

Word by Word

• iti: thus

• śrī-liṅga-mahāpurāṇe: in the glorious Liṅga Mahāpurāṇa

• pūrva-bhāge: in the first section (Pūrvabhāga)

• bhuvana-vinyāsa: arrangement/disposition of the worlds

• uddeśa-sthāna: indicated places/locations

• varṇanam: description

• nāma: named/called

• pañcāśattamaḥ adhyāyaḥ: the fiftieth chapter (traditional colophon)

• sūta uvāca: Sūta said

• devakūṭe: on Devakūṭa (divine peak)

• girau: on the mountain

• madhye: in the middle

• mahākūṭe: in Mahākūṭa (the great peak)

• suśobhane: very splendid/beautiful

• hema: gold

• vaiḍūrya: beryl/cat’s-eye gemstone

• māṇikya: ruby

• nīla: sapphire/blue gem

• gomeda: hessonite/gomedaka

• kāntibhiḥ: with radiances/splendors

Speaker

Suta (Suta Goswami)

Characters & Entities

• Suta

FAQs

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

It sets the cosmological and sacred-geographical frame in which Liṅga worship is situated—showing that the Śiva-centered sacred space is not merely local but mapped onto the ordered structure of the worlds (bhuvana-vinyāsa).

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

By portraying a radiant, jewel-like sacred locus, the verse points to Śiva-tattva as the luminous Pati—self-revealing consciousness whose presence sanctifies and orders the cosmos, even when the narrative is describing “place” rather than doctrine.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No explicit pūjā-vidhi or Pāśupata-yoga technique is stated in this line; it functions as a dhāma/kshetra-style description that typically supports later practices such as tīrtha-oriented worship, mental visualization (dhyāna) of sacred space, and Liṅga installation context.