Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 62
विष्णु-ब्रह्म-विवाद-वर्णनम्
Description of the Viṣṇu–Brahmā Dispute and Brahmā’s Confusion
सत्वरं सर्वयत्नेन तस्यान्तं ज्ञातुमिच्छया । श्रान्तो न दृष्ट्वा तस्यांतमहं कालादधोगतः
satvaraṃ sarvayatnena tasyāntaṃ jñātumicchayā | śrānto na dṛṣṭvā tasyāṃtamahaṃ kālādadhogataḥ
Vội vã đem hết mọi nỗ lực, với ước muốn biết giới hạn của Nó, ta mỏi mệt; và không thấy được tận cùng của Nó, sau một thời gian dài ta lại hạ xuống phía dưới.
Brahma
Tattva Level: pasha
Shiva Form: Liṅgodbhava
Sthala Purana: Brahmā’s exhaustion and descent after failing to find the ‘end’ dramatizes the incapacity of finite agency under māyā/kāla to delimit the infinite Liṅga.
Significance: Encourages vairāgya and śaraṇāgati: when effort (prayatna) reaches its limit, the seeker turns toward Śiva’s anugraha as the true means of realization.
Cosmic Event: Prolonged search across vast time culminating in fatigue and return—prelude to Śiva’s decisive self-revelation.
FAQs
It teaches that Shiva’s reality is limitless—beyond the reach of egoic striving and measurement—so the seeker must move from prideful “knowing” to humble surrender and devotion to the Supreme Pati.
The verse arises from the attempt to find the Linga’s end, highlighting the Linga as the sign of the Infinite; worship of the Linga is worship of Shiva’s boundless nature made approachable through a sacred form.
Adopt humility and steadiness in japa and Linga-pūjā—especially Panchākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya)—rather than merely seeking to “grasp” Shiva intellectually; offer worship with bhakti as the proper response to the Infinite.