Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 8

आभ्यन्तरध्यान-तत्त्वगणना-चतुर्व्यूहयोगः

Adhyaya 28

Devanagari script

महांस् तथा त्वहङ्कारं तन्मात्रं पञ्चकं पुनः कर्मेन्द्रियाणि पञ्चैव तथा बुद्धीन्द्रियाणि च

Transliteration

mahāṃs tathā tvahaṅkāraṃ tanmātraṃ pañcakaṃ punaḥ karmendriyāṇi pañcaiva tathā buddhīndriyāṇi ca

Translation

由自性（Prakṛti）生起“大我”（Mahat，宇宙智），继而生起我慢（Ahaṅkāra，“我”之感）。随后复生五唯量（tanmātra，五微细境），并生五作根（karmendriya）与五知根（buddhīndriya）。如是，系缚之索（paśa）为众生（paśu）而展开，直至在主宰（Pati）——湿婆（Śiva）之下得以调伏。

Word by Word

• महान्/महांस्: Mahat, cosmic intellect

• तथा: and/then

• तु: indeed

• अहङ्कारम्: ahaṅkāra, ego-principle/I-sense

• तन्मात्रम्: tanmātra, subtle element

• पञ्चकम्: set of five

• पुनः: again/thereafter

• कर्मेन्द्रियाणि: organs of action (speech, hands, feet, excretion, generation)

• पञ्च: five

• एव: indeed/only

• तथा: likewise

• बुद्धीन्द्रियाणि: organs of knowledge (hearing, touch, sight, taste, smell)

• च: and

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the cosmological teaching within the Linga Purana discourse)

FAQs

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

It maps the inner structure of embodied existence—Mahat, ego, tanmātras, and the senses—showing what the devotee offers and purifies in Linga-pūjā: the ego and sense-complex are surrendered to Śiva (Pati) to loosen pāśa (bondage).

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

By listing evolutes of prakṛti, it implies Śiva-tattva as distinct from and transcendent to these principles—Śiva is Pati, the Lord who is not merely another tattva but the sovereign consciousness who grants mastery and liberation to the paśu.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Sense-restraint and ego-thinning are indicated: a Pāśupata-oriented discipline where the karmendriyas and buddhīndriyas are regulated, and ahaṅkāra is offered into Śiva through japa, dhyāna, and Linga-centered worship.