Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 15

जम्बूद्वीपस्य नववर्षविभागः रुद्रस्य अष्टक्षेत्रसन्निधिः नाभि-ऋषभ-भरतकथा

Devanagari script

धर्माधर्मौ न तेष्वास्तां नोत्तमाधममध्यमाः न तेष्वस्ति युगावस्था क्षेत्रेष्वष्टसु सर्वतः

Transliteration

dharmādharmau na teṣvāstāṃ nottamādhamamadhyamāḥ na teṣvasti yugāvasthā kṣetreṣvaṣṭasu sarvataḥ

Translation

In those eight sacred Śiva-kṣetras, neither dharma nor adharma holds sway; nor do distinctions of superior, inferior, or middling arise. In every way, the conditions of the yugas are not operative in those holy fields.

Word by Word

• dharma-adharmau: merit and demerit

• na: not

• teṣu: in them/there

• āstāṁ: are present/stand

• na uttama-adhama-madhyamāḥ: not (as) superior, inferior, or middling (classes/distinctions)

• na: not

• teṣu: in them

• asti: exists

• yuga-avasthā: the state/conditioning of the yugas (Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali)

• kṣetreṣu: in the sacred fields/pilgrimage-sites

• aṣṭasu: in the eight

• sarvataḥ: entirely, on all sides/in every respect.

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It teaches that certain Śiva-kṣetras possess a sanctity where ordinary karmic accounting (dharma/adharma) and social-spiritual gradations lose force, making Linga-pūjā there especially oriented toward release from pasha (bondage) rather than worldly merit.

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

Śiva-tattva is implied as that which transcends dualities and time-bound yuga conditions; in His kṣetra, the pashu encounters Pati in a field where limiting measures of good/evil and hierarchical status are neutralized.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Kṣetra-sevā—pilgrimage, residence, and Linga-arcana in Śiva’s sacred fields—functions as a Pāśupata-aligned practice aimed at loosening pasha through proximity to Pati, beyond ordinary yuga-based constraints.