Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 104

देवैर्विष्णोः शरणागमनम्—शिवलिङ्गस्थापनं, शिवसहस्रनामस्तवः, सुदर्शनचक्रप्रदानं च

Devanagari script

आशुशब्दपतिर्वेगी प्लवनः शिखिसारथिः असंसृष्टो ऽतिथिः शक्रः प्रमाथी पापनाशनः

Transliteration

āśuśabdapatirvegī plavanaḥ śikhisārathiḥ asaṃsṛṣṭo 'tithiḥ śakraḥ pramāthī pāpanāśanaḥ

Translation

Él es el Señor del mantra de sonido veloz, el Impetuoso y el Rápido; el que hace cruzar a los seres el saṃsāra; el Auriga del Nacido del Fuego, Skanda. No se mancha por contacto: es el Huésped (Atithi) que siempre llega a todos los corazones; el Soberano poderoso, el que somete fuerzas hostiles y destruye el pecado: Śiva, el Pati que afloja los pāśa que atan al paśu.

Word by Word

• āśu: swift, immediate

• śabda-patiḥ: lord/master of sound (mantra/śabda)

• vegī: rapid, impetuous

• plavanaḥ: crosser, ferrier across (saṃsāra)

• śikhi-sārathiḥ: charioteer of Śikhi (Skanda/Kārttikeya

• asaṃsṛṣṭaḥ: untouched, unmingled, untainted

• atithiḥ: guest, the ever-present visitor (inner indweller)

• śakraḥ: powerful ruler, mighty one

• pramāthī: crusher/subduer (of obstacles/foes)

• pāpa-nāśanaḥ: destroyer of sin

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Shiva Sahasranama to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Skanda (Kartikeya)

FAQs

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

These names praise Shiva as pāpanāśana (destroyer of sin) and plavana (the one who carries devotees across saṃsāra), reinforcing Linga-pūjā as a means to purify pāśas (bondages) and approach Pati (the Lord) through mantra and devotion.

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

Shiva is portrayed as asaṃsṛṣṭa—untainted and transcendent—yet also atithi, the indwelling presence who ‘arrives’ in every being; thus He is both beyond prakṛti and intimately present as the liberating Pati of the paśu.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The emphasis on śabda-pati (lord of mantra) points to mantra-japa and Linga-arcana supported by Pāśupata discipline—using sacred sound and worship to dissolve pāpa and loosen the bonds of the soul.