Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 13

सूर्यरश्मिस्वरूपकथनम्

Surya-Rashmi Svarupa Kathana

Devanagari script

कुतः सस्यविनिष्पत्तिस् तृणौषधिगणो ऽपि च अभावो व्यवहाराणां जन्तूनां दिवि चेह च

Transliteration

kutaḥ sasyaviniṣpattis tṛṇauṣadhigaṇo 'pi ca abhāvo vyavahārāṇāṃ jantūnāṃ divi ceha ca

Translation

作物の実りはどこから来よう。草や薬草の群れでさえ、衆生の営みの秩序が崩れ去れば——天においても、この地においても——成り立つはずがない。

Word by Word

• kutaḥ: how/whence

• sasya-viniṣpattiḥ: production/ripening of crops

• tṛṇa: grass

• auṣadhi-gaṇaḥ: multitude of medicinal plants/herbs

• api: even/also

• ca: and

• abhāvaḥ: absence/non-existence

• vyavahārāṇām: of customary dealings/worldly transactions/social order

• jantūnām: of living beings/creatures

• divi: in heaven

• ca: and

• iha: here (on earth)

• ca: also

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the cosmic decline as taught within the Purana’s srishti-dharma context)

FAQs

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

It frames a world where dharma and orderly “vyavahāra” have broken down; in the Linga Purana, the Linga represents Pati (Shiva) as the stabilizing axis that restores fertility, right order, and sacred law.

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

By implying that when order vanishes, even nature’s productivity fails, it points to Shiva-tattva as the sustaining Lord (Pati) whose presence upholds ṛta/dharma across both heaven and earth, countering disorder born of pasha.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The takeaway is restoration: through Shiva-oriented dharma—Linga-puja and Pashupata-aligned discipline that purifies pashu (the bound soul) and loosens pasha—cosmic and social order are re-established.