Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 144

ध्यानयज्ञः, संसार-विष-निरूपणम्, पाशुपतयोगः, परा-अपरा विद्या, चतुर्वस्था-विचारः (अध्यायः ८६)

Devanagari script

ज्ञानं धर्मोद्भवं साक्षाज् ज्ञानाद् वैराग्यसंभवः वैराग्यात्परमं ज्ञानं परमार्थप्रकाशकम्

Transliteration

jñānaṃ dharmodbhavaṃ sākṣāj jñānād vairāgyasaṃbhavaḥ vairāgyātparamaṃ jñānaṃ paramārthaprakāśakam

Translation

智慧直接由正法（dharma）而生；由智慧生起离贪离著（vairāgya）。由离著生出至上之智，照耀最高真谛——松解束缚（pāśa），引导受缚之灵（paśu）趋向主宰（Pati，湿婆 Śiva）。

Word by Word

• ज्ञानम् (jñānam): spiritual knowledge

• धर्मोद्भवम् (dharmodbhavam): arising from dharma/right conduct

• साक्षात् (sākṣāt): directly/manifestly

• ज्ञानात् (jñānāt): from knowledge

• वैराग्य-सम्भवः (vairāgya-saṃbhavaḥ): the arising of dispassion/non-attachment

• वैराग्यात् (vairāgyāt): from dispassion

• परम् (param): supreme/highest

• ज्ञानम् (jñānam): knowledge/gnosis

• परमार्थ-प्रकाशकम् (paramārtha-prakāśakam): that which reveals the highest reality

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the teaching tradition within the Linga Purana to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It frames Linga worship as a dharmic discipline that matures into jñāna and vairāgya, culminating in parama-jñāna—inner illumination that makes devotion to Shiva transformative rather than merely external.

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

By pointing to “paramārtha-prakāśa” (the revelation of the highest truth), it implies Shiva as the supreme Light/Reality (Pati) known through ripened knowledge born of dispassion.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

It highlights the Pāśupata-oriented progression: dharma (regulated conduct and worship) → jñāna (discernment) → vairāgya (detachment) → parama-jñāna (liberating realization).