Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28

आचार्य-धर्मलक्षण-श्रद्धाभक्तिप्राधान्यं तथा लिङ्गे ध्यान-पूजाविधानसंकेतः

Adhyaya 10

Devanagari script

कुशलाकुशलानां तु प्रहाणं न्यास उच्यते अव्यक्ताद्यविशेषान्ते विकारे ऽस्मिन्नचेतने

Transliteration

kuśalākuśalānāṃ tu prahāṇaṃ nyāsa ucyate avyaktādyaviśeṣānte vikāre 'sminnacetane

Translation

舍离福与罪，名为 nyāsa（真实的安置与放下）。在此无知觉的 prakṛti 变异之中——自未显的 avyakta 起，至无差别的 aviśeṣa 终——当放下一切“我为作者”的执取，安住于超越诸缚的主宰 Pati。

Word by Word

• kuśala: merit/auspicious karmic result

• akuśalānām: of demerit/inauspicious karmic result

• tu: indeed

• prahāṇam: abandoning, relinquishment

• nyāsaḥ: nyāsa, laying down/renunciation (also inner deposition of agency)

• ucyate: is said/called

• avyakta-ādi: beginning with the Unmanifest (prakṛti)

• aviśeṣa-ante: ending in the undifferentiated/without distinctions

• vikāre: in the modification/evolute

• asmin: in this

• acetane: insentient, non-conscious

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shaiva doctrine to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It defines inner nyāsa as abandoning attachment to both punya and papa, aligning Linga-worship with Pashupata detachment and surrender of doership to Pati (Shiva).

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

By contrasting the insentient evolutes of prakṛti (avyakta to aviśeṣa) with the need to renounce agency, it implies Shiva as the conscious Pati beyond unconscious matter and karmic accounting.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Nyāsa as a yogic renunciation: depositing actions and their fruits (both merit and demerit) into Shiva, a core Pashupata attitude supporting liberation of the pashu from pasha.