Shloka 9

देवदारुवनौकसां प्रति ब्रह्मोपदेशः—लिङ्गलक्षण-प्रतिष्ठा-विधिः, शिवमायारूपदर्शनं, स्तुतिः

Devanagari script

तमो ह्यग्नी रजो ब्रह्मा सत्त्वं विष्णुः प्रकाशकम् मूर्तिरेका स्थिता चास्य मूर्तयः परिकीर्तिताः

Transliteration

tamo hyagnī rajo brahmā sattvaṃ viṣṇuḥ prakāśakam mūrtirekā sthitā cāsya mūrtayaḥ parikīrtitāḥ

Translation

തമസ്സാണ് അഗ്നി, രജസ്സാണ് ബ്രഹ്മാവ്, പ്രകാശകരമായ സത്ത്വം വിഷ്ണു. എങ്കിലും അവന്റെ തത്ത്വം ഒന്നേ, നിത്യസ്ഥിരം; ഇവ മൂന്നും അവന്റെ പ്രകട മూర్తികളായി പ്രസിദ്ധമാണ്.

Word by Word

• tamaḥ: tamas, the dark/inert guṇa

• hi: indeed

• agnī (agniḥ): Agni (fire-deity)

• rajaḥ: rajas, the active guṇa

• brahmā: Brahmā

• sattvam: sattva, the luminous guṇa

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu

• prakāśakam: illuminating, making manifest

• mūrtiḥ: form/reality as manifest presence

• ekā: one

• sthitā: established, abiding

• ca: and

• asya: of Him (of the Supreme—Śiva as Pati)

• mūrtayaḥ: forms/manifestations

• parikīrtitāḥ: are declared/proclaimed.

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana teaching to the sages; doctrinal voice presenting Śiva as Pati beyond the guṇas)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Agni
• Brahma
• Vishnu

FAQs

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

It frames Linga-upāsanā as worship of the one Pati (Śiva) who appears through multiple functional forms; the devotee honors the single reality beyond the guṇas rather than mistaking guṇa-based deities as separate absolutes.

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

Śiva-tattva is indicated as ekā mūrti—one abiding reality—while Agni, Brahmā, and Viṣṇu are guṇa-linked manifestations within creation; thus Śiva as Pati is ontologically prior and not limited by tamas/rajas/sattva.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The takeaway aligns with Pāśupata orientation: cultivate worship and meditation that rises above guṇa-identification—offering through Agni (ritual), disciplined action (rajas), and purity/illumination (sattva)—and finally resting in the one Śiva beyond all three.