Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 51

भुवनकोशविन्यासनिर्णयः (ज्योतिर्गति-वृष्टिचक्र-वर्णनम्)

Devanagari script

जीवकाश् च तथा क्षीणा विद्युद्ध्वनिविवर्जिताः तिष्ठन्त्याक्रोशमात्रे तु धरापृष्ठादितस्ततः

Transliteration

jīvakāś ca tathā kṣīṇā vidyuddhvanivivarjitāḥ tiṣṭhantyākrośamātre tu dharāpṛṣṭhāditastataḥ

Translation

The vital airs (prāṇa) too grew feeble; thunder and lightning were absent. From that time onward they remained only within a mere call’s distance, close upon the earth’s surface—signs that the world’s powers were withdrawing under the tightening pāśa, until the Lord Pati (Śiva) restores order again.

Word by Word

• जीवकाश् (jīvakāḥ): vital forces/life-breaths

• च (ca): and

• तथा (tathā): likewise

• क्षीणा (kṣīṇāḥ): weakened, diminished

• विद्युत् (vidyut): lightning

• ध्वनि (dhvani): thunder/sound

• विवर्जिताः (vivarjitāḥ): deprived of, absent from

• तिष्ठन्ति (tiṣṭhanti): they remain/stand

• आक्रोशमात्रे (ākrośa-mātre): within the measure of a cry/call (a short distance)

• तु (tu): indeed

• धरापृष्ठात् (dharā-pṛṣṭhāt): from/near the surface of the earth

• इतस्ततः (itas tataḥ): from here and there, on all sides/thereafter.

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames a time of waning prāṇic power and ominous stillness, implying the need to take refuge in Pati—worship of the Linga as the stabilizing axis that restores order when worldly energies withdraw.

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

By showing the world’s forces diminishing under bondage-like constraints, the verse indirectly points to Shiva-tattva as transcendent Pati: the One who is not diminished, and who re-manifests balance when creation shows signs of collapse.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

It suggests prāṇa-saṃyama (restraint/withdrawal of the life-breath) as a yogic motif and supports śānti-oriented Shiva upāsanā—Linga-pūjā and Vedic appeasement rites to counter inauspicious cosmic signs.