Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 15

उपलेपनादिकथनम्

Vastraputa-jala, Ahimsa, and Conduct in Shiva Worship

Devanagari script

यज्ञार्थं पशुहिंसा च क्षत्रियैर्दुष्टशासनम् विहिताविहितं नास्ति योगिनां ब्रह्मवादिनाम्

Transliteration

yajñārthaṃ paśuhiṃsā ca kṣatriyairduṣṭaśāsanam vihitāvihitaṃ nāsti yogināṃ brahmavādinām

Translation

为祭祀（yajña）之故，亦有言及杀牲；而对刹帝利而言，惩治恶人乃所当行。然而对瑜伽行者、宣说梵者——安住于对主宰Pati（湿婆）之见者——并无“应作”与“禁作”的僵硬分别；因为他们以清净智而行，超越pāśa（系缚）。

Word by Word

• yajña-artham: for the purpose of sacrifice

• paśu-hiṃsā: injury/killing of an animal

• ca: and

• kṣatriyaiḥ: by/for Kshatriyas

• duṣṭa-śāsanam: disciplining/punishing the wicked

• vihita: prescribed/ordained

• avihitam: not prescribed/forbidden

• nāsti: does not exist

• yoginām: for Yogins

• brahma-vādinām: for those who speak/teach Brahman (Brahman-realized sages)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Linga Purana teachings to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames outer ritual (yajña) and social duty as conditional dharma, while pointing Linga-centered yogic realization toward Pati (Śiva) where bondage-born dualities of “allowed/forbidden” fall away in purified awareness.

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

By implying a Brahman-established yogin’s standpoint, it gestures to Shiva-tattva as the transcendent Pati—beyond moral dualities—while still upholding dharma for embodied pashus bound by pāśa.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

It contrasts Vedic yajña-dharma and kṣatriya duty with the yogin’s higher discipline—Pāśupata-oriented inner purification and Brahman-abidance—where action is guided by jñāna rather than rule-based dualism.