Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 135

Adhyaya 70: आदिसर्गः—महत्-अहङ्कार-तन्मात्रा-भूतसृष्टिः, ब्रह्माण्डावरणम्, प्रजासर्गः, त्रिमूर्ति-शैवाधिष्ठानम्

Devanagari script

तदाचलत्वाद् अचलाः पर्वभिः पर्वताः स्मृताः गिरयो हि निगीर्णत्वाच् छयानत्वाच्छिलोच्चयाः

Transliteration

tadācalatvād acalāḥ parvabhiḥ parvatāḥ smṛtāḥ girayo hi nigīrṇatvāc chayānatvācchiloccayāḥ

Translation

ಅಚಲ ಸ್ವಭಾವದಿಂದ ಅವು ‘ಅಚಲ’ ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತವೆ. ಪರ್ವಗಳು (ಮಡಚು-ಸಂಧಿಗಳು) ಇರುವುದರಿಂದ ‘ಪರ್ವತ’ ಎಂದು ಸ್ಮರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತವೆ. ಘನತೆಯಿಂದ ನಿಗೀರ್ಣವಾದಂತಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ‘ಗಿರಿ’, ಮತ್ತು ಶಿಲೆಗಳ ಮಹಾರಾಶಿಯಾಗಿ ಹಾಸಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ‘ಶಿಲೋಚ್ಚಯ’ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತವೆ।

Word by Word

• tad-ācalatvāt: because of that immobility

• acalāḥ: immovable ones (mountains)

• parvabhiḥ: by ridges/knots/joints

• parvatāḥ: mountains

• smṛtāḥ: are known/remembered

• girayaḥ: mountains (giri)

• hi: indeed

• nigīrṇatvāt: because of being ‘swallowed’/massive and engulfing (in form)

• chayānatvāt: because of lying spread out/being heaped

• śilā-uccayāḥ: heaps/accumulations of rock

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames sacred geography: mountains as stable, rock-formed pillars of the manifest world, which supports the Shaiva view of the cosmos as a field where the Linga (Pati) is worshipped through stable, consecrated places.

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

By emphasizing immovability and steadfastness (acalatva), it indirectly mirrors Shiva-tattva as the unmoving Pati—unchanging consciousness—upon which changing creation is structured.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the takeaway is the Shaiva sacralization of mountains as ideal kshetras for tapas, dhyana, and Linga-sthapana within a Pashupata-oriented worldview.