Shloka 1
इति श्रीलिङ्गमहापुराणे पूर्वभागे अन्धकगाणपत्यात्मको नाम त्रिनवतितमो ऽध्यायः ऋषय ऊचुः कथमस्य पिता दैत्यो हिरण्याक्षः सुदारुणः विष्णुना सूदितो विष्णुर् वाराहत्वं कथं गतः
iti śrīliṅgamahāpurāṇe pūrvabhāge andhakagāṇapatyātmako nāma trinavatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ ṛṣaya ūcuḥ kathamasya pitā daityo hiraṇyākṣaḥ sudāruṇaḥ viṣṇunā sūdito viṣṇur vārāhatvaṃ kathaṃ gataḥ
So beginnt im Śrī Liṅga-Mahāpurāṇa, im Pūrva-bhāga, das vierundneunzigste Kapitel mit dem Namen „Bericht über Andhaka als Herrn der Gaṇas“. Die Weisen sprachen: „Wie wurde sein Vater, der überaus grimmige Daitya Hiraṇyākṣa, von Viṣṇu erschlagen, und wie nahm Viṣṇu die Gestalt des Ebers (Varāha) an?“
Sages (Ṛṣis) at Naimiṣāraṇya (addressing Sūta)
FAQs
This opening verse frames the sages’ inquiry that leads into a Shaiva Purana narrative where cosmic events (like Varāha’s act) are ultimately read through the supremacy of Pati (Śiva) and the ordering of dharma—preparing the ground for understanding Śiva’s gaṇas and the governance of the cosmos around the Liṅga-centered reality.
Though Śiva is not named directly here, the Liṅga Purāṇa’s Shaiva Siddhānta lens treats such questions as pointers to the higher causality of Śiva as Pati: even when Viṣṇu acts as protector, the narrative flow typically culminates in Śiva-tattva as the ultimate ground that releases beings from pāśa (bondage) and regulates divine functions.
No specific pūjā-vidhi or Pāśupata-yoga limb is stated in this verse; it functions as a narrative gateway. The takeaway is śravaṇa (devotional listening) to Purāṇic kathā as a preparatory discipline that supports bhakti and right understanding of Pati–paśu–pāśa themes.