Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 7

अलकापतेः तपः-लिङ्गप्रतिष्ठा च वरप्राप्तिः / The Lord of Alakā: Austerity, Liṅga-Establishment, and the Receiving of a Boon

Devanagari script

प्राणसंरोधनिर्वातं निर्मलं निर्मलेक्षणात् । संस्थाप्य शांभवं लिंगं सद्भावकुसुमार्चितम्

Transliteration

prāṇasaṃrodhanirvātaṃ nirmalaṃ nirmalekṣaṇāt | saṃsthāpya śāṃbhavaṃ liṃgaṃ sadbhāvakusumārcitam

Translation

سانس کے ضبط سے پیدا ہونے والی بےہوا سی سکونت اور پاکیزہ حالت پا کر، اپنی صاف نظر کی قوت سے اس نے شَامبھَو لِنگ کی स्थापना کی اور سَدبھاؤ کے پھولوں سے اس کی پوجا کی۔

Word by Word

• प्राणसंरोधनिर्वातम्: breath-restraint stillness (windless state)
• प्राणसंरोधनिर्वातम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण + संरोध + निर्वात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (Neuter; Acc sg); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष ('windlessness due to restraint of breath')

• निर्मलम्: pure, spotless
• निर्मलम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (Neuter; Acc sg)

• निर्मल-ईक्षणात्: from pure vision/seeing
• निर्मल-ईक्षणात्: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्मल + ईक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी विभक्ति; एकवचन (Neuter; Abl sg); तत्पुरुष ('from/through pure seeing')

• संस्थाप्य: having स्थापित/placed, having स्थापित (set up)
• संस्थाप्य: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); अव्ययभाव (indeclinable gerund)

• शांभवम्: Śaṃbhava, belonging to Śambhu (Śiva)
• शांभवम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाम्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (Neuter; Acc sg)

• लिङ्गम्: liṅga (emblem)
• लिङ्गम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (Neuter; Acc sg)

• सद्भावकुसुमार्चितम्: worshipped with the flowers of true devotion
• सद्भावकुसुमार्चितम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सद्भाव + कुसुम + अर्चित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति; एकवचन (Past passive participle; Neuter; Acc sg); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष ('worshipped with flowers of true feeling')

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Rudrasaṃhitā account to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pashu

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga episode; the verse describes establishing a Śāmbhava-liṅga as a sādhaka’s consecrated support (pratiṣṭhā) for worship after prāṇasaṃrodha and inner purification.

Significance: Models the inner-to-outer movement: purified prāṇa and vision culminate in liṅga-pratiṣṭhā and bhāva-pūjā, teaching that Śiva’s grace is approached through śuddhi and upāsanā.

Shakti Dimension

Role: nurturing

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Shambhu

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It links yoga and bhakti: when the mind becomes “windless” through prāṇasaṃrodha, one’s vision is purified, making Liṅga-worship effective as an inner offering of sadbhāva that leads toward Śiva-realization.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

The Śāmbhava Liṅga is presented as a Saguna support (ālambana) for devotion; establishing and worshipping the Liṅga outwardly mirrors inner stabilization—purity of perception and unwavering devotion directed to Śambhu.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Breath-restraint (prāṇasaṃrodha) to quiet agitation, followed by Liṅga-pratiṣṭhā and pūjā with ‘flowers’ of sincerity—i.e., offerings made with pure intention; this pairs well with japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) in Shaiva practice.