Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 195

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

Devanagari script

प्रजां धर्मं च कामं च त्यक्त्वा वैराग्यमास्थितौ यथोत्पन्नः स एवेह कुमारः स इहोच्यते

Transliteration

prajāṃ dharmaṃ ca kāmaṃ ca tyaktvā vairāgyamāsthitau yathotpannaḥ sa eveha kumāraḥ sa ihocyate

Translation

प्रजां धर्मं च कामं च त्यक्त्वा वैराग्यमास्थितः। यथोत्पन्नः स एवेह कुमारः स इहोच्यते॥

Word by Word

• प्रजाम्: progeny/offspring

• धर्मम्: worldly duty/ritual-social obligation (dharma)

• च: and

• कामम्: desire/pleasure (kāma)

• च: and

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned

• वैराग्यम्: dispassion/renunciation

• आस्थितौ: having taken refuge in/established in

• यथा-उत्पन्नः: as born, in the original state

• सः: he

• एव: indeed

• इह: here/in this context

• कुमारः: Kumāra (the ever-youthful renunciate)

• सः: he

• इह-उच्यते: is here said/called

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Purana to the sages of Naimisharanya, describing the Kumara ideal)

Characters & Entities

• Kumaras
• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames inner renunciation (vairagya) as the qualifying discipline for approaching Shiva as Pati through Linga-upasana—reducing pasha (bondage) created by desire, social fixation, and possessiveness.

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

By holding up the “as-born” purity of the Kumara, the verse implies Shiva’s grace leads the pashu back toward its original clarity—freedom from kama-driven pasha—so the soul can orient to Pati, the ever-pure Lord.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Vairagya as a core limb of Pashupata-oriented sadhana: restraining desire and identity-attachments so that japa, dhyana, and Linga-puja become inwardly effective rather than merely external.