Shloka 20

Adhyaya 4: अहोरात्र-युग-मन्वन्तर-कल्पमान तथा प्रलयान्ते सृष्ट्युपक्रमः

Devanagari script

त्रिंशदन्यानि वर्षाणि मतः सप्तर्षिवत्सरः नव यानि सहस्राणि वर्षाणां मानुषाणि तु

Transliteration

triṃśadanyāni varṣāṇi mataḥ saptarṣivatsaraḥ nava yāni sahasrāṇi varṣāṇāṃ mānuṣāṇi tu

Translation

（神の）三十年は「サプタリシの一年」を成すと理解される。そしてその一サプタリシ年は、人間の九千年に数えられる。かくしてプラーナは、具身の魂（パシュ）が主（パティ）のもとで創造の展開を量るための時間尺度を示す。

Word by Word

• त्रिंशत् (triṁśat): thirty

• अन्यानि (anyāni): other/remaining (i.e., additional, counted as a unit)

• वर्षाणि (varṣāṇi): years

• मतः (mataḥ): is considered/held to be

• सप्तर्षिवत्सरः (saptarṣi-vatsaraḥ): a year of the Seven Sages (Saptarṣis)

• नव (nava): nine

• यानि (yāni): which/that amount

• सहस्राणि (sahasrāṇi): thousands

• वर्षाणाम् (varṣāṇām): of years

• मानुषाणि (mānuṣāṇi): human (years)

• तु (tu): indeed/and

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Linga Purana chronology to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Saptarishis

FAQs

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

It frames Linga-worship within Purāṇic cosmology: the devotee contemplates Mahādeva as Pati who governs vast cycles of time, making daily pūjā a conscious alignment with cosmic order (ṛta) rather than a merely personal rite.

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

By emphasizing the immensity and structure of time, it indirectly points to Shiva-tattva as the transcendent regulator beyond temporal measures—time is a function within creation, while Shiva as Pati remains the sovereign ground of its unfolding.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

A contemplative practice (kāla-anusandhāna) supportive of Pāśupata discipline: meditating on cosmic time-scales reduces attachment (pāśa) and steadies the paśu toward devotion and liberation under the Pati.