Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28

Adhyaya 52: सोमाधारः, पुण्योदानदी, मेरुप्रदक्षिणा, जम्बूद्वीपनववर्षवर्णनम्

Devanagari script

नागद्वीपं तथा सौम्यं गान्धर्वं वारुणं गताः केचिन्म्लेच्छाः पुलिन्दाश् च नानाजातिसमुद्भवाः

Transliteration

nāgadvīpaṃ tathā saumyaṃ gāndharvaṃ vāruṇaṃ gatāḥ kecinmlecchāḥ pulindāś ca nānājātisamudbhavāḥ

Translation

有些人——出自众多不同族类——如弥勒叉（Mleccha）与普林达（Pulinda）等，前往那伽洲（Nāgadvīpa）；同样也前往娑弥洲（Saumyadvīpa）、乾闼婆洲（Gāndharvadvīpa）与伐楼那洲（Vāruṇadvīpa）。

Word by Word

• नागद्वीपम्: Nāgadvīpa (a named island/region)

• तथा: likewise/also

• सौम्यम्: Saumya (named dvīpa/region)

• गान्धर्वम्: Gāndharva (named dvīpa/region)

• वारुणम्: Vāruṇa (named dvīpa/region)

• गताः: went/arrived

• केचित्: some

• म्लेच्छाः: foreign/non-Vedic peoples (outside orthodox varṇāśrama)

• पुलिन्दाः: Pulindas (a forest/tribal people)

• च: and

• नाना-जाति-समुद्भवाः: originating from many kinds of births/tribes/ethnic groupings

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

FAQs

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

It situates human communities within a divinely ordered cosmos; in Shaiva Siddhanta framing, such ordering supports dharma so that pashus (souls) may approach Pati (Shiva) through right conduct and worship, even across diverse lands.

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

Indirectly: by depicting the structured distribution of peoples and regions, it implies a governed creation (niyati) under the supreme Lord—Pati—who remains transcendent while sustaining the manifested worlds.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific puja-vidhi or Pashupata Yoga limb is taught in this line; it functions as cosmographic context that later supports teachings on Shiva-puja and liberation from pāśa (bondage).