Shloka 21

उत्तरदिग्देशस्थ-शिवलीङ्गमाहात्म्य

Māhātmya of Northern-Region Śiva-liṅgas

Devanagari script

इति वश्च समाख्यातं लिंगवर्णनमुत्तमम् । चतुर्दिक्षु मुनिश्रेष्ठाः किमन्यच्छ्रोतुमिच्छथ

Transliteration

iti vaśca samākhyātaṃ liṃgavarṇanamuttamam | caturdikṣu muniśreṣṭhāḥ kimanyacchrotumicchatha

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ, ഹേ മുനിശ്രേഷ്ഠന്മാരേ, ഞാൻ നിങ്ങളോട് ശിവലിംഗത്തിന്റെ ഉത്തമമായ വർണ്ണനം പറഞ്ഞു. ഇനി നാലുദിക്കുകളിൽ നിന്നുമെത്തിയ ഋഷിമാരേ—മറ്റെന്താണ് കേൾക്കാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നത്?

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyopapada (वाक्योपपद)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, quotative/closing particle

• vaḥ: to you (all)
• vaḥ: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (युष्मद्), Dative/Genitive (4th/6th), Plural (बहुवचन); here dative ‘to you’

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• samākhyātam: has been narrated
• samākhyātam: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-khyā (धातु) → samākhyāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन); predicate ‘has been narrated’

• liṅga-varṇanam: description of the liṅga
• liṅga-varṇanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + varṇana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘description of the liṅga’), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन)

• uttamam: excellent/supreme
• uttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन); qualifying ‘liṅga-varṇanam’

• catur-dikṣu: in the four directions
• catur-dikṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + diś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvigu-samāsa (‘four directions’), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग) base ‘diś’, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• muni-śreṣṭhāḥ: O best sages
• muni-śreṣṭhāḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘best among sages’), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Interrogative pronoun (किम्), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• anyat: other/else
• anyat: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); qualifying implied object ‘(kim) anyat’

• śrotum: to hear
• śrotum: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: Infinitive (तुमुन्), expressing purpose

• icchatha: do you wish
• icchatha: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: iṣ (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Sages

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It marks the completion of an authoritative Liṅga-mahātmyam teaching and invites further inquiry, emphasizing the Purāṇic method: śravaṇa (hearing) and continued questioning as a path that matures bhakti toward Pati (Śiva).

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

By calling the Liṅga-description “uttama,” the text affirms the Liṅga as a foremost saguna support for devotion—Śiva made approachable for worship—while still pointing to His transcendent reality beyond form, as understood in Shaiva Siddhānta.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

The implied practice is śravaṇa and manana: regularly hear and contemplate the Liṅga-mahātmyam, then proceed to Liṅga-pūjā with mantra (especially the Panchākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and steady devotional attention.