Shloka 1
Adhyaya 71: पुरत्रयवृत्तान्तः—ब्रह्मवरदानम्, मयकृतत्रिपुर-निर्माणम्, विष्णुमाया-धर्मविघ्नः, शिवस्तुति, त्रिपुरदाहोपक्रमः
इति श्रीलिङ्गमहापुराणे पूर्वभागे सृष्टिविस्तारो नाम सप्ततितमो ऽध्यायः ऋषय ऊचुः समासाद् विस्तराच्चैव सर्गः प्रोक्तस्त्वया शुभः कथं पशुपतिश्चासीत् पुरं दग्धुं महेश्वरः
iti śrīliṅgamahāpurāṇe pūrvabhāge sṛṣṭivistāro nāma saptatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ ṛṣaya ūcuḥ samāsād vistarāccaiva sargaḥ proktastvayā śubhaḥ kathaṃ paśupatiścāsīt puraṃ dagdhuṃ maheśvaraḥ
如是，在《圣林伽大往世书》前分中，开启第七十一章，名为“创生之展开”。诸仙人曰：“吉祥者啊，你已略说亦复广说诸创生。今请问：大自在天——兽主（Paśupati），诸‘兽’之主——如何焚烧那诸城（即三城）？”
Rishis (Sages of Naimisharanya) addressing Suta Goswami
FAQs
It frames Śiva as Paśupati—the supreme Pati who governs and liberates paśu (souls) from pāśa (bondage). In Liṅga-worship, this establishes the Liṅga as the sign of that transcendent Lord whose grace and power regulate creation and dissolution.
By naming him Maheśvara and Paśupati, the verse points to Śiva-tattva as sovereign Lordship: the one who can both explain cosmic projection (sarga) and enact cosmic dissolution (burning Pura), functioning as ruler over bound beings and their karmic limitations.
No specific rite is prescribed in this verse; it signals a shift toward the Tripura-dahana teaching, often read in Shaiva traditions as an inner Pāśupata-Yoga allegory—burning the ‘three cities’ as the purification of the soul’s triple bonds through Śiva’s grace.