Shloka 10
नन्दिकेश्वरोत्पत्तिः — Nandikesvara’s Origin, Shiva’s Boons, and the Rise of Sacred Rivers
न दृष्टमेवमाश्चर्यम् आयुर्वर्षादतः परम् इत्युक्तवति विप्रेन्द्रः शिलादः पुत्रवत्सलः
na dṛṣṭamevamāścaryam āyurvarṣādataḥ param ityuktavati viprendraḥ śilādaḥ putravatsalaḥ
“Never have I seen such a wonder—that life should be limited only to a certain span of years and no more!” Thus, when it was spoken, the best of Brahmins—Śilāda, tenderly devoted to his son—was shaken with grief and reflection.
Suta Goswami (narrating the episode of Śilāda within the Linga Purana’s Purva-Bhaga)
FAQs
It frames the human condition as bound by finite āyus (lifespan), setting up the need for Śiva’s anugraha (grace) accessed through Linga-upāsanā to loosen pasha (bondage) and move the pashu (soul) toward liberation under Pati (Śiva).
By highlighting the shock of mortality’s limit, the narrative implicitly points to Śiva-tattva as that which is not limited by time (kāla) or measure—Pati who can overrule karmic finitude through grace, a key Shaiva Siddhānta theme.
The verse itself is narrative, but it signals the turn toward Śaiva sādhanā—especially Linga-pūjā and Pāśupata-oriented discipline—undertaken to transcend the bondage of time and death.