Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 93

Adhyaya 40: Kali-yuga Lakshana, Yuga-sandhyamsha, and the Re-emergence of Dharma

Devanagari script

यथा युगानां परिवर्तनानि चिरप्रवृत्तानि युगस्वभावात् तथा तु संतिष्ठति जीवलोकः क्षयोदयाभ्यां परिवर्तमानः

Transliteration

yathā yugānāṃ parivartanāni cirapravṛttāni yugasvabhāvāt tathā tu saṃtiṣṭhati jīvalokaḥ kṣayodayābhyāṃ parivartamānaḥ

Translation

Như những chuyển biến của các yuga đã vận hành từ lâu đời theo bản tính riêng của từng thời đại, thì cũng vậy, thế giới chúng sinh hữu thân vẫn tồn tại, luôn xoay vần giữa suy và thịnh. Vì thế, pashu (linh hồn cá thể) trôi lăn trong saṃsāra dưới vòng quay của thời gian, cho đến khi nương tựa nơi Pati—Śiva—Đấng duy nhất vượt ngoài mọi tăng trưởng và hoại diệt.

Word by Word

• yathā: just as

• yugānām: of the yugas (world-ages)

• parivartanāni: changes, transitions

• cira-pravṛttāni: long-established, long in operation

• yuga-svabhāvāt: from the inherent nature of the yuga

• tathā: so, likewise

• tu: indeed

• saṃtiṣṭhati: stands, continues, endures

• jīva-lokaḥ: the world of living beings / embodied souls

• kṣaya-udayābhyām: by decline and rise (destruction and emergence)

• parivartamānaḥ: revolving, undergoing change

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames the cosmos as cyclically changing by time (kāla), implying that stability is not found in worldly rise and decline but in devotion to Pati—Śiva—whose Linga signifies the timeless, unchanging reality beyond yuga-rotation.

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

By contrast: the jīvaloka revolves through kṣaya and udaya, while Shiva-tattva is understood as that which is not subject to such modifications—Pati, the transcendent ground in which cycles appear and dissolve.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse points more to viveka (discrimination) than a specific rite: recognizing cyclical impermanence supports Pāśupata-oriented sādhanā—turning the pashu away from time-bound fluctuations toward Śiva through dhyāna, japa, and Linga-upāsanā.