Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 27

योगान्तरायाः, औपसर्गिकसिद्धयः, परवैराग्येन शैवप्रसादः

Devanagari script

गन्धो रसस् तथा रूपं शब्दः स्पर्शस्तथैव च प्रत्येकमष्टधा सिद्धं पञ्चमे तच्छतक्रतोः

Transliteration

gandho rasas tathā rūpaṃ śabdaḥ sparśastathaiva ca pratyekamaṣṭadhā siddhaṃ pañcame tacchatakratoḥ

Translation

Amoy, lasa, anyo, tunog, at haplos—bawat isa ay itinatag sa walong anyo sa loob ng ikalimang prinsipyo. Ganito itinuro, O Śatakratu (Indra), sa paglalatag ng mga tattva, upang ang paśu (kaluluwang nakagapos) ay makilala ang larangan ng karanasan mula kay Pati (Panginoon).

Word by Word

• गन्धः: smell (odor)

• रसः: taste (sap/flavor)

• तथा: and/likewise

• रूपम्: form/colour/visible appearance

• शब्दः: sound

• स्पर्शः: touch

• तथा एव च: and indeed also

• प्रत्येकम्: each, individually

• अष्टधा: eightfold

• सिद्धम्: established/defined as a settled doctrine

• पञ्चमे: in the fifth (principle/category)

• तत्: that/this teaching

• शतक्रतोः: of Śatakratu—Indra (vocative sense: O Indra)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating a doctrinal passage; addressing Indra as Śatakratu within the embedded teaching)

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Śatakratu)

FAQs

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

It frames sense-objects (smell, taste, form, sound, touch) as part of the experiential field (pāśa/kshetra) that must be discerned and purified; Linga worship is thereby positioned as a Shaiva discipline that turns the paśu away from sensory dispersion toward Pati (Śiva) through tattva-viveka.

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

By implication: Śiva as Pati is distinct from the eightfold configurations of sense-experience; He is not reducible to sensory qualities, but is the transcendent Lord who enables liberation when the paśu recognizes the senses as bound-domain (pāśa) rather than Self.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Tattva-viveka and indriya-nigraha (discernment and restraint of the senses), foundational to Pāśupata-oriented sādhanā: the practitioner observes sense-objects as categories, offers them inwardly to Śiva, and stabilizes awareness in the Linga as the locus of Pati.