युगधर्मवर्णनम् — चतुर्युग, गुण, धर्मपाद, तथा वार्तोत्पत्ति
विचारणाच्च वैराग्यं वैराग्याद्दोषदर्शनम् दोषाणां दर्शनाच्चैव द्वापरे ज्ञानसंभवः
vicāraṇācca vairāgyaṃ vairāgyāddoṣadarśanam doṣāṇāṃ darśanāccaiva dvāpare jñānasaṃbhavaḥ
विचारणा से वैराग्य होता है, वैराग्य से दोषों का दर्शन होता है; और उन दोषों के प्रत्यक्ष दर्शन से द्वापर युग में ज्ञान का उदय संभव होता है।
Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana to the sages of Naimisharanya)
It frames Linga worship as an inner discipline: inquiry (vicāra) ripens into detachment (vairāgya), which exposes defects (doṣas) and prepares the devotee for jñāna—making external puja fruitful by purifying the pashu (individual soul) from pasha (bondage).
Shiva-tattva is implied as the goal of jñāna: when the soul sees the defects that bind it and becomes dispassionate, knowledge dawns that turns the pashu toward Pati (Shiva), the unbound Lord beyond doṣa and change.
A yogic purification sequence is highlighted—vicāra → vairāgya → doṣa-darśana → jñāna—aligned with Pāśupata-oriented inner practice, where self-examination and detachment support mantra-japa, dhyāna, and steady Linga-upāsanā.