Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 20

Adhyaya 72 — Puradāha: Rudra’s Cosmic Chariot, Pāśupata-Vrata, and Brahmā’s Shiva-Stuti

Devanagari script

प्रतोदो ब्रह्मणस्तस्य प्रणवो ब्रह्मदैवतम् लोकालोकाचलस्तस्य ससोपानः समन्ततः

Transliteration

pratodo brahmaṇastasya praṇavo brahmadaivatam lokālokācalastasya sasopānaḥ samantataḥ

Translation

For that cosmic Liṅga, Brahmā is the goad that urges creation onward; the sacred Praṇava, “Oṁ,” is its Brahman-deity. Mount Lokāloka is its boundary, and all around it are steps, as though for ascent in worship and yogic realization.

Word by Word

• pratodaḥ: goad/impelling rod

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahmā

• tasya: of that (Linga/cosmic form)

• praṇavaḥ: the syllable Oṁ

• brahma-daivatam: the divinity/deity presiding as Brahman

• lokāloka-acalaḥ: the Lokāloka mountain (cosmic boundary)

• tasya: of it

• sa-sopānaḥ: having steps/stairways

• samantataḥ: on all sides/everywhere

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Brahma
• Pranava (Om)
• Lokāloka (cosmic mountain)

FAQs

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

It encodes Linga-puja as cosmic worship: creation (Brahmā), mantra (Oṁ), and the universe’s boundary (Lokāloka) are all treated as limbs of the Linga, implying that honoring the Linga is honoring the whole cosmos under Pati (Śiva).

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

Śiva-tattva is presented as the all-encompassing Pati: even Brahmā’s creative drive and the Praṇava’s transcendence are integrated into the Linga, showing Śiva as both immanent in cosmic functions and beyond the world-limit (Lokāloka).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Praṇava-upāsanā (Oṁ meditation) is central, and the “steps all around” suggest graded ascent—an inner Pāśupata-style progression where the paśu (soul) climbs beyond pāśa (bondage) toward realization of Pati in the Linga.