Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 147

वासिष्ठकथनम् (आदित्य–सोमवंशवर्णनम् तथा रुद्रसहस्रनाम-प्रशंसा)

Devanagari script

आरोहणो ऽधिरोहश् च शीलधारी महातपाः महाकण्ठो महायोगी युगो युगकरो हरिः

Transliteration

ārohaṇo 'dhirohaś ca śīladhārī mahātapāḥ mahākaṇṭho mahāyogī yugo yugakaro hariḥ

Translation

祂是上升之道，亦是令一切众生向上提升者；持守清净戒德者；大苦行者。祂是大喉之主（摩诃迦ṇṭha），至上瑜伽行者；祂即是劫（Yuga），亦是造劫者——哈利，解除系缚与忧苦的除障者。

Word by Word

• ārohaṇaḥ: the ascent/one who leads upward (spiritual rise)

• adhirohaḥ: the one who mounts/raises (uplifts beings beyond pāśa)

• śīla-dhārī: bearer of śīla (ethical discipline and right conduct)

• mahā-tapāḥ: great in tapas (austerity, inner heat of sādhanā)

• mahā-kaṇṭhaḥ: great-throated (Nīlakaṇṭha, who held the poison to protect the worlds)

• mahā-yogī: supreme yogin (master of Pāśupata-yoga)

• yugaḥ: the age/epoch (time-principle)

• yuga-karaḥ: maker/ordainer of the ages (controller of cosmic cycles)

• hariḥ: remover/destroyer (of pāpa, duḥkha, and bondage—pāśa).

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Shiva Sahasranama to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames the Linga-Lord as the force of spiritual ascent and uplift (ārohaṇa/adhiroha), teaching that Linga-pūjā is not merely ritual but a means for the paśu (soul) to rise beyond pāśa (bondage) under Pati (Shiva).

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

Shiva is shown as Mahāyogī (the supreme master of yoga and inner control), Mahātapāḥ (the archetype of tapas), and also as Time itself (yuga) and its ordainer (yugakara), indicating His sovereignty over both liberation and cosmic order.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The emphasis is on Pāśupata-oriented discipline: śīla (ethical restraint), tapas (austerity), and yoga under Shiva as Mahāyogī—implying that Linga-pūjā is perfected through inner sādhanā that uplifts the practitioner.