Linga Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 137

अविमुक्तक्षेत्रमाहात्म्य — काशी-वाराणसी में मोक्ष, लिङ्ग-तीर्थ-मानचित्र, और उपासना-विधि

Devanagari script

भैरवेश्वरम् ईशानं तथौंकारकसंज्ञितम् अमरेशं महाकालं ज्योतिषं भस्मगात्रकम्

Transliteration

bhairaveśvaram īśānaṃ tathauṃkārakasaṃjñitam amareśaṃ mahākālaṃ jyotiṣaṃ bhasmagātrakam

Translation

我顶礼怖畏自在天（Bhairaveśvara），顶礼伊沙那（Īśāna），并顶礼名为唵迦罗（Oṃkāra）者；顶礼不死主（Amareśa）、大时主（Mahākāla）、纯净光明之主，以及其身即灰之主——湿婆（Śiva），为众生之主宰（Pati），焚尽有情（paśu）之缚（pāśa）诸结。

Word by Word

• भैरवेश्वरम्: Bhairaveśvara, the fierce Lord

• ईशानम्: Īśāna, the sovereign ruler (north-east aspect of Śiva)

• तथा: and also

• औंकारकसंज्ञितम्: known/denoted as Oṃkāra (the Pranava)

• अमरेशम्: lord of the immortals (devas)

• महाकालम्: Mahākāla, Great Time/Death-transcending

• ज्योतिषम्: luminous Light, divine radiance

• भस्मगात्रकम्: whose body is ash-smeared/ash-formed (sign of renunciation and dissolution)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating a Shiva-names hymn within the Linga Purana discourse)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

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

It strings together key epithets used in Linga-upāsanā: Śiva as Jyotis (the luminous reality behind the Linga) and as Oṃkāra (Pranava), guiding the devotee to worship the Linga as both form and formless light.

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

Śiva is presented as Pati: fierce as Bhairava, sovereign as Īśāna, identical with Oṃ, Lord of the devas, Mahākāla beyond time, and Jyotis itself—whose ash-marked body signifies the burning away of pasha and the transcendence of worldly identity.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Bhasma (sacred ash) is foregrounded—bhasma-dhāraṇa as a Pāśupata/Shaiva marker of vairāgya and inner purification—along with pranava-upāsanā (meditation on Oṃ) as a direct contemplative approach to Śiva.