Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 10

Vighneshvara-Prashna and Deva-Krita Shiva-Stava

Adhyaya 104

Devanagari script

कालाग्निरुद्ररूपाय धर्माद्यष्टपदाय च कालीविशुद्धदेहाय कालिकाकारणाय ते

Transliteration

kālāgnirudrarūpāya dharmādyaṣṭapadāya ca kālīviśuddhadehāya kālikākāraṇāya te

Translation

礼拝いたします——御身はカラ―グニ・ルドラ（劫火のルドラ）として現れ、ダルマに始まる八支の基盤そのものであり、カーリーによって清められ（カーリーとして）輝く御身をもち、カーリカーの根本原因・源泉である御方よ。

Word by Word

• कालाग्निरुद्र-रूपाय: to the One whose form is Kālāgni-Rudra (the fire of Time as Rudra)

• धर्माद्य-अष्ट-पदाय: to the One who is the eightfold basis/footing beginning with Dharma

• च: and

• काली-विशुद्ध-देहाय: to the One whose body is wholly purified/clarified as Kālī (the Power of Time)

• कालिका-कारणाय: to the cause of Kālikā (the Divine Shakti in the Kālikā aspect)

• ते: to You (salutation/obeisance implied).

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating a received hymn of praise within the Purana tradition)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Rudra
• Kālāgni-Rudra
• Kālī
• Kālikā
• Dharma

FAQs

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

It frames the Linga’s Lord (Pati) as Kālāgni-Rudra—the power of Time that dissolves bondage—so worship is not merely for worldly boons but for burning pasha (bondage) and stabilizing the pashu (soul) in Shiva’s reality.

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

Shiva is presented as both terrifying and foundational: the consuming fire of Time (Rudra) and the sustaining eightfold order beginning with Dharma, while also being inseparable from Shakti (Kālī/Kālikā) as her source and inner purity.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

A stuti-based upāsanā is implied: reciting such epithets during Linga-pūjā or Pāśupata-oriented japa/meditation to internalize Shiva as Pati who purifies the body-mind and burns karmic bonds through the principle of Kāla (Time).