Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 20

अध्याय ८२ — व्यपोहनस्तवः (पापव्यपोहन-स्तोत्रम्)

Devanagari script

मनोन्मनी महादेवी मायावी मण्डनप्रिया मायया या जगत्सर्वं ब्रह्माद्यं सचराचरम्

Transliteration

manonmanī mahādevī māyāvī maṇḍanapriyā māyayā yā jagatsarvaṃ brahmādyaṃ sacarācaram

Translation

她是摩诺恩摩尼（Manonmanī）、大女神——以幻力（Māyā）而幽玄，喜爱庄严饰美——她以自身的幻力显现此一切宇宙，自梵天（Brahmā）起，连同一切动与不动者。

Word by Word

• मनोन्मनी: Manonmanī (the transcendent state beyond mind / a name of the Goddess)

• महादेवी: the Great Goddess

• मायावी: possessor of Māyā, wondrous/illusory in power

• मण्डनप्रिया: fond of ornaments/adornment

• मायया: by Māyā (by her power of manifestation)

• या: she who

• जगत्सर्वम्: the whole cosmos/universe

• ब्रह्माद्यम्: beginning with Brahmā (including the creator and the cosmic hierarchy)

• सचराचरम्: with the moving and the unmoving (all sentient and insentient beings)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating a Devi-stuti within the Linga Purana discourse)

Characters & Entities

• Devi
• Brahma

FAQs

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

It frames Shakti as the manifesting power behind all names and forms; in Linga-worship, the Linga signifies Pati (Shiva) while such verses remind that the experienced cosmos arises through Shakti’s Māyā—supporting worship that honors Shiva together with his inseparable power.

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

By praising the Goddess as the one who manifests the universe through Māyā, the verse implies the Shaiva principle that Pati remains transcendent while Shakti operates as the dynamic power of manifestation—together expressing the fullness of Shiva-tattva (Shiva with inseparable Shakti).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The key takeaway is contemplative upāsanā: meditating on Māyā as Shakti’s power and on Manonmanī as the beyond-mind state—useful in Pāśupata-oriented discipline for loosening pāśa (bondage) in the paśu (soul) through insight and devotion.