Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 126
देवैर्विष्णोः शरणागमनम्—शिवलिङ्गस्थापनं, शिवसहस्रनामस्तवः, सुदर्शनचक्रप्रदानं च
वीतदोषो ऽक्षयगुणो दक्षारिः पूषदन्तहृत् धूर्जटिः खण्डपरशुः सकलो निष्कलो ऽनघः
vītadoṣo 'kṣayaguṇo dakṣāriḥ pūṣadantahṛt dhūrjaṭiḥ khaṇḍaparaśuḥ sakalo niṣkalo 'naghaḥ
He is free from all defects, endowed with imperishable excellences; the foe of Dakṣa, who tore out Pūṣan’s teeth. He is Dhūrjaṭi with matted locks, the wielder of the broken axe. He is both with form (Sakala) and beyond form (Niṣkala), the sinless Lord—Pati who frees the paśu from pāśa.
Suta Goswami (reciting the Shiva Sahasranama within the Linga Purana narration)
FAQs
It frames the Liṅga as Shiva who is simultaneously Sakala (worshipable with attributes in the icon/linga) and Niṣkala (the attributeless Absolute), guiding devotees to honor both ritual form and transcendent reality.
Shiva is described as stainless and defect-free (vītadoṣa, anagha) with imperishable powers (akṣayaguṇa), yet capable of decisive cosmic action (Dakṣa-ari, Pūṣadanta-hṛt). He is the one Reality appearing as both manifest and unmanifest—Pati beyond limitation.
The verse supports upāsanā that unites external Liṅga-pūjā (Sakala focus) with internal contemplation on the Niṣkala Shiva through Pāśupata-oriented detachment from doṣas (defects) and bonds (pāśa).