Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 39
लिङ्गप्रतिष्ठा-माहात्म्यम् / The Greatness of Liṅga Installation
नापश्यदल्पमप्यस्य मूलं लिंगस्य सूकरः । तावत्कालं गतश्चोर्ध्वं तस्यांतं ज्ञातुमिच्छया
nāpaśyadalpamapyasya mūlaṃ liṃgasya sūkaraḥ | tāvatkālaṃ gataścordhvaṃ tasyāṃtaṃ jñātumicchayā
Selbst nach langer Zeit erblickte der Eber (Viṣṇu) nicht einmal die geringste Spur des Fundaments jenes Liṅga. Dann stieg er ebenso lange wieder empor, um seine Grenze zu erkennen; doch das Ende des Zeichens des Herrn blieb unerreichbar.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Liṅgodbhava
Sthala Purana: The failure to find the mūla (base) and anta (end) of the Liṅga dramatizes Śiva’s ananta-svarūpa; the liṅga is not a finite object but the Lord’s transcendent sign, accessible by grace rather than measurement.
Significance: Meditation on the unfindable base/end supports vairāgya and surrender; it is a didactic template for approaching liṅga-darśana with humility.
Cosmic Event: Ananta-stambha (infinite pillar) as cosmological axis beyond spatial-temporal traversal (varṣa-sahasra as narrative hyperbole for immeasurability).
FAQs
It teaches that Śiva as Pati (the Supreme Lord) is beginningless and endless; the finite intellect cannot measure Him. True knowing arises through grace, humility, and devotion—not by prideful conquest of limits.
The Liṅga here is the sacred sign of Śiva’s boundless reality: worship focuses the mind on the Infinite through a tangible form, showing that Saguna worship can lead the seeker toward the transcendent truth beyond measure.
Adopt humble Liṅga-bhakti: meditate on Śiva as infinite while chanting the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” offering water and bilva leaves with the attitude of surrender rather than attempting to ‘grasp’ the Divine by force.