Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 71

मुनिमोहशमनम्

Pāśupata-yoga, Siddhis, Puruṣa-darśana, Saṃsāra, and Prāṇa-Rudra Pañcāhutī

Devanagari script

पिशाचान्तः स विज्ञेयः स्वर्गस्थानेषु देहिनाम् ब्राह्मे तु केवलं सत्त्वं स्थावरे केवलं तमः

Transliteration

piśācāntaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ svargasthāneṣu dehinām brāhme tu kevalaṃ sattvaṃ sthāvare kevalaṃ tamaḥ

Translation

स्वर्ग-स्थानों को प्राप्त देहियों में उसकी सीमा पिशाच-पर्यन्त समझनी चाहिए। पर ब्राह्म-लोक में केवल सत्त्व है, और स्थावर-लोक में केवल तम है॥

Word by Word

• पिशाच-अन्तः: ending in (descending even to) the piśāca state

• सः: that (range/order)

• विज्ञेयः: is to be understood/known

• स्वर्ग-स्थानेषु: in the stations/realms of heaven

• देहिनाम्: of embodied beings

• ब्राह्मे: in the Brahmā-world (Brahmaloka)

• तु: but/indeed

• केवलम्: only/purely

• सत्त्वम्: sattva (lucidity, purity)

• स्थावरे: in the immobile (plant/mineral) order

• केवलम्: only

• तमः: tamas (inertia, obscuration)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the doctrinal gradation of beings and gunas to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Brahma

FAQs

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

It frames why Shiva-puja and Linga-upasana are prescribed: embodied souls (pashu) move through graded states shaped by the gunas, and worship of Pati (Shiva) is the means to rise beyond tamas/rajas toward sattva and ultimately liberation beyond all gunas.

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

By contrasting realms dominated by sattva or tamas, it implicitly points to Shiva-tattva as transcendent to the three gunas—Pati who is not bound by the fluctuations that govern the pashu’s embodied destinies.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The takeaway aligns with Pashupata Yoga and Shaiva discipline: reduce tamas (inertia) and stabilize sattva through purity, mantra, and Linga-puja, using devotion and yogic restraint to loosen pasha (bondage) that drives lower rebirths.