Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28

मदनदाहः — पार्वतीतपः, स्वयंवरलीला, देवस्तम्भनं, दिव्यचक्षुर्दानम्

Devanagari script

मालां प्रगृह्य देव्यां तु स्थितायां देवसंसदि शिशुर्भूत्वा महादेवः क्रीडार्थं वृषभध्वजः

Transliteration

mālāṃ pragṛhya devyāṃ tu sthitāyāṃ devasaṃsadi śiśurbhūtvā mahādevaḥ krīḍārthaṃ vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ

Translation

Sa kapulungan ng mga diyos, habang naroon ang Diyosa, si Mahādeva—ang may bandilang may toro—ay kumuha ng kuwintas ng bulaklak at, naging tulad ng sanggol, naglaro sa banal na līlā bilang banal na aliw.

Word by Word

• मालाम् (mālāṃ): a garland

• प्रगृह्य (pragṛhya): having taken/holding

• देव्याम् (devyāṃ): in the Goddess (Parvatī)

• तु (tu): indeed/and

• स्थितायाम् (sthitāyāṃ): while standing/present

• देवसंसदि (devasaṃsadi): in the assembly/court of the Devas

• शिशुः (śiśuḥ): a child

• भूत्वा (bhūtvā): having become

• महादेवः (mahādevaḥ): Mahādeva (Śiva)

• क्रीडार्थम् (krīḍārthaṃ): for play/sport (līlā)

• वृषभध्वजः (vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ): the one whose emblem is the bull (Śiva).

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Parvati
• Devas

FAQs

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

The verse highlights Śiva’s approachable, līlā-filled presence even in the Deva-assembly; for Linga worship it supports bhakti with intimacy—adorning (mālā) the Pati is a gesture of surrender by the pashu seeking release from pasha.

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

Śiva-tattva is shown as sovereign yet freely self-manifesting: Mahādeva can assume a childlike form without losing transcendence, revealing that the Pati is both beyond the worlds and immanent within them through līlā.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Ritually, it points to mālā-arpana (offering a garland) as a simple upacāra in Śiva-pūjā; yogically, it hints at cultivating childlike egolessness (ahantā-śūnyatā) before the Pati—an inner disposition aligned with Pāśupata devotion.