Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16

Vighneshvara-Prashna and Deva-Krita Shiva-Stava

Adhyaya 104

Devanagari script

षोडशस्वरवज्राङ्गवक्त्रायाक्षयरूपिणे कादिपञ्चकहस्ताय चादिहस्ताय ते नमः

Transliteration

ṣoḍaśasvaravajrāṅgavaktrāyākṣayarūpiṇe kādipañcakahastāya cādihastāya te namaḥ

Translation

Salutations to You—whose face is radiant and adamantine with the power of the sixteen sacred vowels; whose essential form is imperishable; who bears the “ka” and the fivefold letter-group as Your hand, the power of mantra; and who are Yourself the primal Hand, the first source of all agency.

Word by Word

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteen

• svara: vowels/sounds

• vajra-aṅga: adamantine (vajra-like) limbs

• vaktra: face/mouth

• -āya: to (dative)

• akṣaya: imperishable/inexhaustible

• rūpiṇe: to the One whose form is

• kādi: beginning with ‘ka’ (the ka-varga / first consonantal series)

• pañcaka: group of five

• hastāya: to the One whose hand/holding/power is

• ca: and

• ādi: primordial/first

• te: to You

• namaḥ: salutation

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating a Shiva-stotra/nāmāvali to the Sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames Linga-worship as worship of Shiva’s imperishable Pati-tattva revealed through śabda (sacred sound): the vowels and consonantal groups symbolize the mantra-body by which the devotee approaches the Linga as the living presence of Mahadeva.

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

Shiva is praised as akṣaya-rūpin—unchanging and inexhaustible—while also being the source of articulation and mantra-power (vaktra, “hand” of letters). This unites transcendence (beyond decay) with immanence (present as the power of sound that guides the pashu toward liberation).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Mantra-japa and varṇa-nyāsa style contemplation are implied: meditating on Shiva as the ground of all phonemes supports Pashupata-oriented sādhanā where pashu loosens pāśa (bondage) through disciplined recitation and inner absorption in the Linga.