Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 34

Adhyaya 17: लिङ्गोद्भव—ब्रह्मविष्ण्वहङ्कार-शमनं, ओंकार-प्रादुर्भावः, मन्त्र-तत्त्वं च

Devanagari script

ज्वालामालासहस्राढ्यं कालानलशतोपमम् क्षयवृद्धिविनिर्मुक्तम् आदिमध्यान्तवर्जितम्

Transliteration

jvālāmālāsahasrāḍhyaṃ kālānalaśatopamam kṣayavṛddhivinirmuktam ādimadhyāntavarjitam

Translation

Hitik sa libu-libong kuwintas ng apoy, tulad ng daan-daang apoy ng Panahon (kālāgni); malaya sa pagkapuksa at pagdami, at walang simula, walang gitna, at walang wakas.

Word by Word

• ज्वाला-माला: garlands/rows of flames

• सहस्र-आढ्यम्: filled with thousands, richly endowed

• काल-अनल: the fire of Time (kāla as cosmic dissolution)

• शत-उपमम्: comparable to hundreds (of such fires)

• क्षय: decay, diminution

• वृद्धि: growth, augmentation

• विनिर्मुक्तम्: completely free from

• आदि: beginning

• मध्य: middle

• अन्त: end

• वर्जितम्: devoid of, without

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the manifestation/appearance of the Linga to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It presents the Linga as the visible sign of the Pati (Shiva) who is anādi-ananta—beyond temporal limits—so worship is not merely of a form, but of the timeless Reality that outshines creation and dissolution.

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

Shiva is depicted as beyond kāla (time) and its consuming fire, untouched by change (no growth or decay), and therefore not conditioned by origin, duration, or end—marking Him as the transcendent Pati distinct from pashu (souls) bound by pāśa (limitations).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse supports dhyāna (contemplative meditation) on the jyotir-liṅga—visualizing Shiva as infinite light—an inner Pāśupata-oriented practice of loosening pāśa through sustained awareness of the changeless Pati.