Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 24

अध्याय 91: अरिष्ट-लक्षण, मृत्यु-संस्कार, पाशुपत-धारणा तथा ओङ्कार-उपासना

Devanagari script

रात्रौ चेन्द्रधनुः पश्येद् दिवा नक्षत्रमण्डलम् परनेत्रेषु चात्मानं न पश्येन्न स जीवति

Transliteration

rātrau cendradhanuḥ paśyed divā nakṣatramaṇḍalam paranetreṣu cātmānaṃ na paśyenna sa jīvati

Translation

若有人夜见彩虹，昼见星环，又不能在他人眼中见到自己的倒影，此人便难以续命（死亡已近）。

Word by Word

• रात्रौ: at night

• च: and

• इन्द्रधनुः (चन्द्रधनुः): rainbow

• पश्येत्: should see/sees

• दिवा: by day/in daytime

• नक्षत्र-मण्डलम्: a constellation-circle/cluster of stars

• पर-नेत्रेषु: in another’s eyes

• च: and

• आत्मानम्: oneself (one’s reflection/self-image)

• न: not

• पश्येत्: sees

• न: not

• सः: he

• जीवति: lives/continues to live

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇas to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)

FAQs

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

It functions as an ariṣṭa (fatal omen) teaching impermanence; recognizing such signs urges the pashu (individual soul) to take refuge in Pati (Shiva) through linga-smaraṇa, japa, and worship before time is exhausted.

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

By highlighting the fragility of embodied life and the certainty of death, it implicitly points to Shiva as Pati—the steady, liberating reality beyond changing sensory signs—toward whom the bound soul should turn when pāśa (bondage) tightens.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse is diagnostic rather than procedural, but its practical takeaway aligns with Pāśupata discipline: vairāgya (detachment), heightened awareness, and immediate engagement in Shiva-upāsanā—japa, abhiṣeka, and remembrance of the linga.