Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 13

सूर्यरश्मिस्वरूपकथनम्

Surya-Rashmi Svarupa Kathana

Devanagari script

कुतः सस्यविनिष्पत्तिस् तृणौषधिगणो ऽपि च अभावो व्यवहाराणां जन्तूनां दिवि चेह च

Transliteration

kutaḥ sasyaviniṣpattis tṛṇauṣadhigaṇo 'pi ca abhāvo vyavahārāṇāṃ jantūnāṃ divi ceha ca

Translation

How could there be the ripening of crops, or even the growth of grasses and medicinal herbs, when the very order of living beings’ dealings has collapsed—both in heaven and here on earth?

Word by Word

• kutaḥ: how/whence

• sasya-viniṣpattiḥ: production/ripening of crops

• tṛṇa: grass

• auṣadhi-gaṇaḥ: multitude of medicinal plants/herbs

• api: even/also

• ca: and

• abhāvaḥ: absence/non-existence

• vyavahārāṇām: of customary dealings/worldly transactions/social order

• jantūnām: of living beings/creatures

• divi: in heaven

• ca: and

• iha: here (on earth)

• ca: also

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the cosmic decline as taught within the Purana’s srishti-dharma context)

FAQs

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

It frames a world where dharma and orderly “vyavahāra” have broken down; in the Linga Purana, the Linga represents Pati (Shiva) as the stabilizing axis that restores fertility, right order, and sacred law.

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

By implying that when order vanishes, even nature’s productivity fails, it points to Shiva-tattva as the sustaining Lord (Pati) whose presence upholds ṛta/dharma across both heaven and earth, countering disorder born of pasha.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The takeaway is restoration: through Shiva-oriented dharma—Linga-puja and Pashupata-aligned discipline that purifies pashu (the bound soul) and loosens pasha—cosmic and social order are re-established.