Shiva Purana — Vayaviya Samhita, Shloka 35
लिङ्गप्रतिष्ठा-माहात्म्यम् / The Greatness of Liṅga Installation
विसृज्य युद्धं किं त्वेतदित्यचिंतयतां तदा । न तयोस्तस्य याथात्म्यं प्रबुद्धमभवद्यदा
visṛjya yuddhaṃ kiṃ tvetadityaciṃtayatāṃ tadā | na tayostasya yāthātmyaṃ prabuddhamabhavadyadā
അപ്പോൾ അവർ യുദ്ധം വിട്ട് “ഇത് യഥാർത്ഥത്തിൽ എന്ത്?” എന്നു ചിന്തിച്ചു; എന്നാൽ ആ സമയത്ത് അതിന്റെ യഥാർത്ഥ സ്വഭാവം ഇരുവർക്കും ബോധ്യമായില്ല.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Liṅgodbhava
Sthala Purana: The narrative pivot: Brahmā and Viṣṇu abandon conflict and turn to inquiry, yet cannot awaken to the yāthātmya (true essence) of the manifestation—highlighting the need for divine revelation/grace.
Significance: Teaches that mere intellectual inquiry (tarka) and power-contest do not yield tattva-jñāna; humility and devotion are prerequisites for Śiva’s anugraha that removes pāśa.
Role: teaching
FAQs
It highlights that mere power or conflict cannot reveal ultimate truth; the Supreme (Pati, Shiva) is known only when His real nature is disclosed through awakening and grace, not by ordinary reasoning alone.
The verse reflects a common Shiva Purana theme: when the divine mystery is not grasped intellectually, Shiva becomes knowable through His manifest signs—such as the Linga—where the formless truth is approached through a sacred form.
A practical takeaway is to pause reactive struggle and turn to Shiva-upasana—japa of the Panchakshara (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), meditation on the Linga, and disciplined yoga-like contemplation—seeking clarity through devotion and inner stillness.