Shloka 1
Adhyaya 71: पुरत्रयवृत्तान्तः—ब्रह्मवरदानम्, मयकृतत्रिपुर-निर्माणम्, विष्णुमाया-धर्मविघ्नः, शिवस्तुति, त्रिपुरदाहोपक्रमः
इति श्रीलिङ्गमहापुराणे पूर्वभागे सृष्टिविस्तारो नाम सप्ततितमो ऽध्यायः ऋषय ऊचुः समासाद् विस्तराच्चैव सर्गः प्रोक्तस्त्वया शुभः कथं पशुपतिश्चासीत् पुरं दग्धुं महेश्वरः
iti śrīliṅgamahāpurāṇe pūrvabhāge sṛṣṭivistāro nāma saptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ ṛṣaya ūcuḥ samāsād vistarāccaiva sargaḥ proktastvayā śubhaḥ kathaṃ paśupatiścāsīt puraṃ dagdhuṃ maheśvaraḥ
かくして『シュリー・リンガ・マハープラーナ』前分において、「創造の展開」と名づけられた第七十一章が始まる。仙人たちは言った。「吉祥なる御方よ、あなたは創造を略しても詳しくも説かれた。今、パシュパティ—パシュの主—たるマヘーシュヴァラはいかにして（三つの）城プラを焼き給うたのか。」
Rishis (Sages of Naimisharanya) addressing Suta Goswami
FAQs
It frames Śiva as Paśupati—the supreme Pati who governs and liberates paśu (souls) from pāśa (bondage). In Liṅga-worship, this establishes the Liṅga as the sign of that transcendent Lord whose grace and power regulate creation and dissolution.
By naming him Maheśvara and Paśupati, the verse points to Śiva-tattva as sovereign Lordship: the one who can both explain cosmic projection (sarga) and enact cosmic dissolution (burning Pura), functioning as ruler over bound beings and their karmic limitations.
No specific rite is prescribed in this verse; it signals a shift toward the Tripura-dahana teaching, often read in Shaiva traditions as an inner Pāśupata-Yoga allegory—burning the ‘three cities’ as the purification of the soul’s triple bonds through Śiva’s grace.