Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 94
Nara-Narayana’s Tapas, Indra’s Temptation, and the Burning of Kama: The Origin of Ananga and the Shiva-Linga Episode
गते ब3ह्मणि शर्वो ऽपि उपसंहृत्य तं तदा लिङ्गं चित्रवने सूक्ष्मं प्रतिष्ठाप्य चचार ह 6.93 विचरन्तं तदा भूयो महेशं कुसुमायुधः आरात्स्थित्वाग्रतो धन्वी संतापयितुमुद्यतः
gate ba3hmaṇi śarvo 'pi upasaṃhṛtya taṃ tadā liṅgaṃ citravane sūkṣmaṃ pratiṣṭhāpya cacāra ha 6.93 vicarantaṃ tadā bhūyo maheśaṃ kusumāyudhaḥ ārātsthitvāgrato dhanvī saṃtāpayitumudyataḥ
Khi Brahmā đã ra đi, Śarva (Śiva) cũng thu hồi sự hiển lộ ấy, rồi an vị một liṅga vi tế trong khu rừng mang tên Citravana và đi du hành. Khi Maheśa lại đang dạo bước, Kẻ mang vũ khí hoa (Kāma) đứng gần phía trước, cầm cung, toan làm Ngài khổ não.
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FAQs
The verse contrasts the ‘subtle liṅga’—symbol of inward, formless divinity—with Kāma’s outward provocations. It teaches restraint and the primacy of tapas/inner stability over sensory agitation.
This is best categorized as deva-carita within vaṃśānucarita-style narrative portions (accounts of divine deeds), not sarga/pratisarga. It also functions as tīrtha/mahatmya-adjacent material if Citravana is part of a sacred landscape cycle.
Śiva installing a ‘sūkṣma liṅga’ signifies the localization of transcendence into a worship-focus while remaining subtle (not fully graspable by sense). Kāma standing ‘in front’ with a flower-bow dramatizes desire confronting ascetic consciousness—setting up the classic motif of desire being neutralized by higher awareness.