Shloka 56

Devanagari script

देवाश् च दुद्रुवुः सर्वे ध्वस्तवीर्या द्विजोत्तम ससर्ज भगवान् विष्णुः स्वदेहात्पुरुषोत्तमः

Transliteration

devāś ca dudruvuḥ sarve dhvastavīryā dvijottama sasarja bhagavān viṣṇuḥ svadehātpuruṣottamaḥ

Translation

ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമാ! സർവ്വ ദേവന്മാരും വീര്യം തകർന്നു ഓടിപ്പോയി. അപ്പോൾ ഭഗവാൻ വിഷ്ണു, പുരുഷോത്തമൻ, തന്റെ ദേഹത്തിൽ നിന്നൊരു ദിവ്യപ്രകടനം സൃഷ്ടിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• देवाः: the gods (devas)

• च: and

• दुद्रुवुः: fled, ran away

• सर्वे: all

• ध्वस्त-वीर्याः: with strength/valor shattered, bereft of potency

• द्विज-उत्तम: O best of the twice-born (address to a brahmin/sage)

• ससर्ज: created, emitted, brought forth

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord

• विष्णुः: Viṣṇu

• स्व-देहात्: from his own body

• पुरुष-उत्तमः: Puruṣottama, the Supreme Person

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Devas

FAQs

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

It shows the devas’ impotence when cosmic balance fails; in the Linga Purana’s Shaiva frame, stability is ultimately restored through alignment with Pati (Shiva) and the higher principle of divine manifestation, which Linga-worship ritualizes.

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

Indirectly: even when Viṣṇu manifests power, the narrative setting in the Linga Purana typically points to a higher Shaiva causality—Pati as the ultimate ground—before whom devas’ limited energies collapse and are reconstituted through divine order.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The takeaway is not a specific rite but a Shaiva yogic principle: when pashu (the dependent being) loses vīrya through pasha (fear, disorder, ignorance), power returns by re-centering on the Supreme—later expressed in the text through Linga-puja, mantra, and Pāśupata-oriented discipline.