Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 12

Adhyaya 50 — देवपुर्यः, पुराणि, आयतनानि च; श्रीकण्ठाधिपत्य-प्रतिपादनम्

Devanagari script

कुमुदे किंनरावासस् त्व् अञ्जने चारणालयः कृष्णे गन्धर्वनिलयः पाण्डुरे पुरसप्तकम्

Transliteration

kumude kiṃnarāvāsas tv añjane cāraṇālayaḥ kṛṣṇe gandharvanilayaḥ pāṇḍure purasaptakam

Translation

कुमुद-वर्ण प्रदेश में किंनरों का निवास है; अञ्जन-श्याम में चारणों का आलय है; कृष्ण-वर्ण में गन्धर्वों की बस्ती है; और पाण्डुर में सात पुरों का समूह है।

Word by Word

• कुमुदे: in the kumuda-colored (region)

• किंनर-आवासः: dwelling/place of the Kiṃnaras

• तु: and/indeed

• अञ्जने: in the añjana (collyrium-dark) (region)

• चारण-आलयः: abode of the Cāraṇas

• कृष्णे: in the black (region)

• गन्धर्व-निलयः: residence of the Gandharvas

• पाण्डुरे: in the pale/whitish (region)

• पुर-सप्तकम्: the group of seven cities

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Kiṃnaras
• Cāraṇas
• Gandharvas

FAQs

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

It frames the cosmos as an ordered hierarchy of abodes; Linga worship aligns the pashu (individual soul) with the Pati (Shiva) who assigns and transcends all such stations.

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

Shiva-tattva is implied as the sovereign principle of niyati—governing where beings like Gandharvas, Cāraṇas, and Kiṃnaras reside—while remaining beyond the color-qualities that mark manifested realms.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse is primarily cosmographic; its yogic takeaway is contemplative dispassion (vairāgya): recognizing that even celestial abodes are conditioned realms, prompting the seeker toward Pashupata-oriented devotion to Pati through Linga-upāsanā.