पुराणसंहितां पुण्यां लिङ्गमाहात्म्यसंयुताम् त्वया सूत महाबुद्धे कृष्णद्वैपायनो मुनिः
The blessed collection of Purāṇas, endowed with the greatness of the Liṅga, was received by you, O wise Sūta, from the sage Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana.
उपासितः पुराणार्थं लब्धा तस्माच्च संहिता तस्माद्भवन्तं पृच्छामः सूत पौराणिकोत्तमम्
Having served him for the meaning of the Purāṇas, you obtained that collection from him; therefore, we ask you, Sūta, foremost among reciters of Purāṇas.
पुराणसंहितां दिव्यां लिङ्गमाहात्म्यसंयुताम् नारदो ऽप्यस्य देवस्य रुद्रस्य परमात्मनः
The divine collection of Purāṇas, endowed with the greatness of the Liṅga, was also received by Nārada, regarding this god Rudra, the Supreme Self.
क्षेत्राण्यासाद्य चाभ्यर्च्य लिङ्गानि मुनिपुङ्गवः इह संनिहितः श्रीमान् नारदो ब्रह्मणः सुतः
Having approached the sacred places and worshipped the Liṅgas, the illustrious sage Nārada, son of Brahmā, is present here.
भवभक्तो भवांश्चैव वयं वै नारदस्तथा अस्याग्रतो मुनेः पुण्यं पुराणं वक्तुमर्हसि
We are all devoted to Bhava, and so is Nārada; before this sage, you should narrate the holy Purāṇa.
सफलं साधितं सर्वं भवता विदितं भवेत् एवमुक्तः स हृष्टात्मा सूतः पौराणिकोत्तमः
All has been accomplished fruitfully and is known to you; thus addressed, Sūta, the foremost reciter of Purāṇas, was gladdened in heart.
अभिवाद्याग्रतो धीमान् नारदं ब्रह्मणः सुतम् नैमिषेयांश्च पुण्यात्मा पुराणं व्याजहार सः
Having respectfully greeted Nārada, son of Brahmā, and the residents of Naimiṣa, the virtuous one began to recite the Purāṇa.
नमस्कृत्य महादेवं ब्रह्माणं च जनार्दनम् मुनीश्वरं तथा व्यासं वक्तुं लिङ्गं स्मराम्यहम्
Having bowed to Mahādeva, to Brahmā, to Janārdana, to the lordly sage Vyāsa, I remember the Liṅga in order to narrate.
शब्दं ब्रह्मतनुं साक्षाच् छब्दब्रह्मप्रकाशकम् वर्णावयवम् अव्यक्तलक्षणं बहुधा स्थितम्
Sound, the very body of Brahman, directly reveals the word-Brahman; composed of letters, marked by the unmanifest, it abides in many forms.
अकारोकारमकारं स्थूलं सूक्ष्मं परात्परम् ओङ्काररूपम् ऋग्वक्त्रं समजिह्वासमन्वितम्
The syllables A, U, and M—gross, subtle, and supreme beyond the supreme—take the form of Om, with the mouth of the Rigveda, joined with equal tongues.
यजुर्वेदमहाग्रीवम् अथर्वहृदयं विभुम् प्रधानपुरुषातीतं प्रलयोत्पत्तिवर्जितम्
With the neck of the Yajurveda, the heart of the Atharva, all-pervading, transcending both Pradhāna and Puruṣa, free from dissolution and origination.
तमसा कालरुद्राख्यं रजसा कनकाण्डजम् सत्त्वेन सर्वगं विष्णुं निर्गुणत्वे महेश्वरम्
By tamas, it is called Kālarudra; by rajas, born of the golden egg; by sattva, it is all-pervading Viṣṇu; in its qualityless state, it is Maheśvara.
प्रधानावयवं व्याप्य सप्तधाधिष्ठितं क्रमात् पुनः षोडशधा चैव षड्विंशकम् अजोद्भवम्
Pervading the limbs of Pradhāna, established in sevenfold order, then again in sixteenfold, and as twenty-six, unborn.
सर्गप्रतिष्ठासंहारलीलार्थं लिङ्गरूपिणम् प्रणम्य च यथान्यायं वक्ष्ये लिङ्गोद्भवं शुभम्
For the purpose of creation, maintenance, and dissolution, assuming the form of the Liṅga, I bow as is proper and will now declare the auspicious origin of the Liṅga.
ईशानकल्पवृत्तान्तम् अधिकृत्य महात्मना ब्रह्मणा कल्पितं पूर्वं पुराणं लैङ्गम् उत्तमम्
Concerning the account of Īśāna's kalpa, the great-souled Brahmā formerly composed the supreme Purāṇa of the Liṅga.
ग्रन्थकोटिप्रमाणं तु शतकोटिप्रविस्तरे चतुर्लक्षेण संक्षिप्ते व्यासैः सर्वान्तरेषु वै
Its measure was at the limit of books, extending to a hundred crores; Vyāsa condensed it into four hundred thousand for all ages.
व्यस्तेष्टा दशधा चैव ब्रह्मादौ द्वापरादिषु लिङ्गमेकादशं प्रोक्तं मया व्यासाच्छ्रुतं च तत्
Divided tenfold, in the ages from Brahmā onward, in the Dvāpara and others, the elevenfold Liṅga was taught by me and heard from Vyāsa.
अस्यैकादशसाहस्रे ग्रन्थमानमिह द्विजाः तस्मात्संक्षेपतो वक्ष्ये न श्रुतं विस्तरेण यत्
Here, O twice-born, the text is of eleven thousand verses; therefore I will briefly relate what has not been heard in detail.
चतुर्लक्षेण संक्षिप्ते कृष्णद्वैपायनेन तु अत्रैकादशसाहस्रैः कथितो लिङ्गसम्भवः
Condensed into four hundred thousand by Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, here the origin of the Liṅga is told in eleven thousand verses.
सर्गः प्राधानिकः पश्चात् प्राकृतो वैकृतानि च अण्डस्यास्य च सम्भूतिर् अण्डस्यावरणाष्टकम्
First is the primary creation, then the elemental and the derivative; the origin of this cosmic egg and its eight coverings.
अण्डोद्भवत्वं शर्वस्य रजोगुणसमाश्रयात् विष्णुत्वं कालरुद्रत्वं शयनं चाप्सु तस्य च
The birth of the egg from Śarva, due to the dominance of rajas; his forms as Viṣṇu and Kālarudra, and his lying upon the waters.
प्रजापतीनां सर्गश् च पृथिव्युद्धरणं तथा ब्रह्मणश् च दिवारात्रम् आयुषो गणनं पुनः
The creation of the Prajāpatis, the raising up of the earth, the day and night of Brahmā, and again the reckoning of his lifespan.
सवनं ब्रह्मणश्चैव युगकल्पश् च तस्य तु दिव्यं च मानुषं वर्षम् आर्षं वै ध्रौव्यमेव च
The ritual of Brahmā, his yugas and kalpas, his divine and human years, the years of the seers, and the fixed cycles.
पित्र्यं पितॄणां सम्भूतिर् धर्मश्चाश्रमिणां तथा अवृद्धिर्जगतो भूयो देव्याः शक्त्युद्भवस्तथा
The origin of the ancestors, the dharma of those in the āśramas, the decline and growth of the world, and the arising of the Goddess's power.
स्त्रीपुम्भावो विरिञ्चस्य सर्गो मिथुनसम्भवः आख्याष्टकं हि रुद्रस्य कथितं रोदनान्तरे
The female and male nature, the creation of Virin̄ci, the origin of pairs, and the eightfold account of Rudra told amidst his weeping.
ब्रह्मविष्णुविवादश् च पुनर्लिङ्गस्य सम्भवः शिलादस्य तपश्चैव वृत्रारेर्दर्शनं तथा
The dispute between Brahmā and Viṣṇu, the renewed origin of the Liṅga, the austerity of Śilāda, and the vision of Vṛtrāri.
प्रार्थना योनिजस्याथ दुर्लभत्वं सुतस्य तु शिलादशक्रसंवादः पद्मयोनित्वमेव च
The prayer of the one born from the womb, the rarity of a son, the dialogue between Śilāda and Indra, and the origin of the Lotus-born are described.
भवस्य दर्शनं चैव तिष्येष्वाचार्यशिष्ययोः व्यासावताराश् च तथा कल्पमन्वन्तराणि च
The vision of Bhava, the auspicious meeting of teacher and disciple in the month of Tiṣya, the descents of Vyāsa, and the accounts of kalpas and manvantaras are narrated.
कल्पत्वं चैव कल्पानाम् आख्याभेदेष्वनुक्रमात् कल्पेषु कल्पे वाराहे वाराहत्वं हरेस् तथा
The nature of kalpas among kalpas, the sequence of different accounts, and in the Vārāha Kalpa, the boar form of Hari are explained.
मेघवाहनकल्पस्य वृत्तान्तं रुद्रगौरवम् पुनर्लिङ्गोद्भवश्चैव ऋषिमध्ये पिनाकिनः
The narrative of the Meghavāhana Kalpa, the greatness of Rudra, and again the emergence of the Liṅga among the sages by the wielder of the bow are recounted.