Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 51

Adhyaya 70: आदिसर्गः—महत्-अहङ्कार-तन्मात्रा-भूतसृष्टिः, ब्रह्माण्डावरणम्, प्रजासर्गः, त्रिमूर्ति-शैवाधिष्ठानम्

Devanagari script

पृथिव्यामेव तं विद्याद् अपां वायोश् च संश्रयात् एते सप्त महात्मानो ह्य् अन्योन्यस्य समाश्रयात्

Transliteration

pṛthivyāmeva taṃ vidyād apāṃ vāyoś ca saṃśrayāt ete sapta mahātmāno hy anyonyasya samāśrayāt

Translation

当知此理安立于地，由水与风所扶持。此七种大实相彼此依存，各各相倚而住；由此相互支撑，显现之秩序得以成立。

Word by Word

• pṛthivyām: in earth

• eva: indeed/only

• tam: that (principle)

• vidyāt: one should know/understand

• apām: of waters

• vāyoḥ: of wind/air

• ca: and

• saṃśrayāt: from dependence/support

• ete: these

• sapta: seven

• mahātmānaḥ: great beings/great principles

• hi: indeed

• anyonyasya: of one another

• samāśrayāt: from mutual reliance/interdependence

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 frames the cosmos as a network of mutually supporting tattvas; in Linga worship, this supports bhūta-śuddhi and the insight that all elements are upheld by a deeper Lordly order (Pati) ultimately symbolized by the Linga.

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

By emphasizing that manifested realities depend on one another, it implicitly points beyond them to the independent ground—Shiva as Pati—who is not sustained by the elements yet pervades and governs their ordered interdependence.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse aligns with bhūta-śuddhi and tattva-vicāra in Shaiva practice—purifying and contemplating earth, water, and wind (and the wider set of principles) as interlinked supports before Linga-puja or yogic absorption.