Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 7

अलकापतेः तपः-लिङ्गप्रतिष्ठा च वरप्राप्तिः / The Lord of Alakā: Austerity, Liṅga-Establishment, and the Receiving of a Boon

Devanagari script

प्राणसंरोधनिर्वातं निर्मलं निर्मलेक्षणात् । संस्थाप्य शांभवं लिंगं सद्भावकुसुमार्चितम्

Transliteration

prāṇasaṃrodhanirvātaṃ nirmalaṃ nirmalekṣaṇāt | saṃsthāpya śāṃbhavaṃ liṃgaṃ sadbhāvakusumārcitam

Translation

Nachdem er durch die aus der Atemverhaltung geborene Stille einen windstillen (ungestörten) und reinen Zustand erreicht hatte – und durch die Kraft seiner gereinigten Sicht – errichtete er das Shambhava Linga und verehrte es mit den Blumen wahrer innerer Hingabe.

Word by Word

• प्राणसंरोधनिर्वातम्: breath-restraint stillness (windless state)
• प्राणसंरोधनिर्वातम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण + संरोध + निर्वात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (Neuter; Acc sg); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष ('windlessness due to restraint of breath')

• निर्मलम्: pure, spotless
• निर्मलम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (Neuter; Acc sg)

• निर्मल-ईक्षणात्: from pure vision/seeing
• निर्मल-ईक्षणात्: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्मल + ईक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी विभक्ति; एकवचन (Neuter; Abl sg); तत्पुरुष ('from/through pure seeing')

• संस्थाप्य: having स्थापित/placed, having स्थापित (set up)
• संस्थाप्य: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); अव्ययभाव (indeclinable gerund)

• शांभवम्: Śaṃbhava, belonging to Śambhu (Śiva)
• शांभवम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाम्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (Neuter; Acc sg)

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga (emblem)
• लिङ्गम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (Neuter; Acc sg)

• सद्भावकुसुमार्चितम्: worshipped with the flowers of true devotion
• सद्भावकुसुमार्चितम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सद्भाव + कुसुम + अर्चित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (Past passive participle; Neuter; Acc sg); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष ('worshipped with flowers of true feeling')

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Rudrasaṃhitā account to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga episode; the verse describes establishing a Śāmbhava-liṅga as a sādhaka’s consecrated support (pratiṣṭhā) for worship after prāṇasaṃrodha and inner purification.

Significance: Models the inner-to-outer movement: purified prāṇa and vision culminate in liṅga-pratiṣṭhā and bhāva-pūjā, teaching that Śiva’s grace is approached through śuddhi and upāsanā.

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Shambhu

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It links yoga and bhakti: when the mind becomes “windless” through prāṇasaṃrodha, one’s vision is purified, making Liṅga-worship effective as an inner offering of sadbhāva that leads toward Śiva-realization.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

The Śāmbhava Liṅga is presented as a Saguna support (ālambana) for devotion; establishing and worshipping the Liṅga outwardly mirrors inner stabilization—purity of perception and unwavering devotion directed to Śambhu.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Breath-restraint (prāṇasaṃrodha) to quiet agitation, followed by Liṅga-pratiṣṭhā and pūjā with ‘flowers’ of sincerity—i.e., offerings made with pure intention; this pairs well with japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) in Shaiva practice.