Linga Purana

आवृणोद्धि तथाकाशं स्पर्शमात्रं द्विजोत्तमाः आवृणोद्रूपमात्रं तु वायुर्वाति क्रियात्मकः

O best of twice-born, ether enveloped the subtle element of touch; air, active by nature, enveloped the subtle element of form.

आवृणोद्रसमात्रं वै देवः साक्षाद्विभावसुः आवृण्वाना गन्धमात्रम् आपः सर्वरसात्मिकाः

The god Agni directly enveloped the subtle element of taste; the waters, full of all tastes, enveloped the subtle element of smell.

क्ष्मा सा पञ्चगुणा तस्माद् एकोना रससम्भवाः त्रिगुणो भगवान्वह्निर् द्विगुणः स्पर्शसम्भवः

Therefore, earth is fivefold in qualities, and from her arise things with less taste; the blessed fire is threefold in qualities, and air, arising from touch, is twofold.

अवकाशस्ततो देव एकमात्रस्तु निष्कलः तन्मात्राद्भूतसर्गश् च विज्ञेयश् च परस्परम्

Then, space is the god with a single quality, indivisible; the creation of elements from the subtle elements should be understood as mutually connected.

वैकारिकः सात्त्विको वै युगपत्सम्प्रवर्तते सर्गस् तथाप्यहंकाराद् एवमत्र प्रकीर्तितः

The Vaikarika, which is sattvic, proceeds simultaneously; thus, creation from ahamkara is described here.

पञ्च बुद्धीन्द्रियाण्यस्य पञ्च कर्मेन्द्रियाणि तु शब्दादीनामवाप्त्यर्थं मनश्चैवोभयात्मकम्

From it arise the five organs of knowledge, the five organs of action, and the mind, which partakes of both, for the purpose of apprehending sound and the rest.

महदादिविशेषान्ता ह्य् अण्डमुत्पादयन्ति च जलबुद्बुदवत्तस्माद् अवतीर्णः पितामहः

From Mahat down to the particular elements, they produce the cosmic egg; from that, as from a bubble in water, the Grandfather (Brahma) descended.

स एव भगवान् रुद्रो विष्णुर्विश्वगतः प्रभुः तस्मिन्नण्डे त्विमे लोका अन्तर्विश्वमिदं जगत्

That very Lord, Rudra, is also Viṣṇu, the sovereign who pervades the universe; within that cosmic egg are these worlds and this entire universe.

अण्डं दशगुणेनैव वारिणा प्रावृतं बहिः आपो दशगुणेनैव तद्बाह्यस्तेजसा वृताः

The egg is enveloped on the outside by water, ten times its size; and that water, in turn, is surrounded on the outside by fire, also ten times greater.

तेजो दशगुणेनैव बाह्यतो वायुना वृतम् वायुर्दशगुणेनैव बाह्यतो नभसा वृतः

The fire is further encased on the outside by air, ten times its own measure; and the air is surrounded on the outside by ether, also ten times greater.

आकाशेनावृतो वायुर् अहंकारेण शब्दजः महता शब्दहेतुर्वै प्रधानेनावृतः स्वयम्

The air is enveloped by ether, and sound arises from ego; the great principle, which is the source of sound, is itself covered by primordial matter.

सप्ताण्डावरणान्याहुस् तस्यात्मा कमलासनः कोटिकोटियुतान्यत्र चाण्डानि कथितानि तु

They speak of seven coverings of the cosmic egg; its soul is the lotus-seated one, and countless millions of such eggs are said to exist here.

तत्रतत्र चतुर्वक्त्रा ब्रह्माणो हरयो भवाः सृष्टाः प्रधानेन तदा लब्ध्वा शम्भोस्तु संनिधिम्

In each of these, four-faced Brahmās, Viṣṇus, and Bhavas are created by primordial matter, having then attained the presence of Śambhu.

लयश्चैव तथान्योन्यम् आन्द्यन्तम् इति कीर्तितम् सर्गस्य प्रतिसर्गस्य स्थितेः कर्ता महेश्वरः

Thus, mutual dissolution and creation up to the end of the egg are proclaimed; Maheśvara is the agent of creation, dissolution, and maintenance.

सर्गे च रजसा युक्तः सत्त्वस्थः प्रतिपालने प्रतिसर्गे तमोद्रिक्तः स एव त्रिविधः क्रमात्

In creation, he is endowed with rajas; in preservation, established in sattva; and in dissolution, he is abundant in tamas—thus, he is threefold in order.

आदिकर्ता च भूतानां संहर्ता परिपालकः तस्मान्महेश्वरो देवो ब्रह्मणो ऽधिपतिः शिवः

He is the original creator of beings, their destroyer, and protector; therefore, the god Maheśvara, Śiva, is the lord of Brahmā.

सदाशिवो भवो विष्णुर् ब्रह्मा सर्वात्मको यतः एकदण्डे तथा लोका इमे कर्ता पितामहः

Sadāśiva, Bhava, Viṣṇu, and Brahmā are all his universal forms; in each egg, the worlds are thus created by the Grandfather.

प्राकृतः कथितस्त्वेष पुरुषाधिष्ठितो मया सर्गश् चाबुद्धिपूर्वस्तु द्विजाः प्राथमिकः शुभः

This is called the natural creation, presided over by the Puruṣa, as I have described; and the first, auspicious creation, O twice-born, arises without deliberation.

अथ प्राथमिकस्येह यः कालस्तदहः स्मृतम् सर्गस्य तादृशी रात्रिः प्राकृतस्य समासतः

Now, the time of this primary creation is called a day; the night of creation is likewise, in brief, the night of the natural dissolution.

दिवा सृष्टिं विकुरुते रजन्यां प्रलयं विभुः औपचारिकमस्यैतद् अहोरात्रं न विद्यते

During the day, the Lord brings forth creation; at night, he causes dissolution. For him, this day and night are only figurative and do not truly exist.

दिवा विकृतयः सर्वे विकारा विश्वदेवताः प्रजानां पतयः सर्वे तिष्ठन्त्यन्ये महर्षयः

By day, all the transformations, the various forms, the universal deities, the lords of beings, and the great sages remain.

रात्रौ सर्वे प्रलीयन्ते निशान्ते सम्भवन्ति च अहस्तु तस्य वैकल्पो रात्रिस्तादृग्विधा स्मृता

At night, all are dissolved, and at the end of night, they come into being again; his night is considered to be of such a kind, as is the variation of his day.

चतुर्युगसहस्रान्ते मनवस्तु चतुर्दश चत्वारि तु सहस्राणि वत्सराणां कृतं द्विजाः

At the end of a thousand cycles of four yugas, there are fourteen Manus; and, O twice-born, four thousand years make up a Kṛta Yuga.

तावच्छती च वै संध्या संध्यांशश् च कृतस्य तु त्रिशती द्विशती संध्या तथा चैकशती क्रमात्

The twilight at the end of Kṛta Yuga is one hundred years, and its portion is likewise; for the other yugas, the twilights are three hundred, two hundred, and one hundred years, respectively.

अंशकः षट्शतं तस्मात् कृतसंध्यांशकं विना त्रिद्व्येकसाहस्रमितो विना संध्यांशकेन तु

The portion is six hundred, excluding the twilight of Kṛta; thus, the three, two, and one thousand years, respectively, are without the twilight portion.

त्रेताद्वापरतिष्याणां कृतस्य कथयामि वः निमेषपञ्चदशका काष्ठा स्वस्थस्य सुव्रताः

I will tell you, O virtuous ones, the measure of time for the Treta, Dvapara, and Tishya ages, as well as for the Krita; fifteen twinklings of the eye make one kāṣṭhā for a healthy person.

मर्त्यस्य चाक्ष्णोस्तस्याश् च ततस् त्रिंशतिका कला कलात्रिंशतिको विप्रा मुहूर्त इति कल्पितः

For mortals, thirty of those kāṣṭhās from the eye are called kalās; thirty kalās, O Brahmins, are considered one muhūrta.

मुहूर्तपञ्चदशिका रजनी तादृशं त्वहः पित्र्ये रात्र्यहनी मासः प्रविभागस्तयोः पुनः

Fifteen muhūrtas make a night, and likewise a day; for the ancestors, night and day together constitute a month, and their division is explained again.

कृष्णपक्षस्त्वहस्तेषां शुक्लः स्वप्नाय शर्वरी त्रिंशद्ये मानुषा मासाः पित्र्यो मासस्तु स स्मृतः

For them, the dark fortnight is their day, the bright fortnight is their night; thirty human months are considered one month for the ancestors.