Linga Purana

नित्यो विशुद्धो बुद्धश् च निष्कलः परमेश्वरः त्वयोक्तो मुक्तिदः किं वा निष्कलश्चेत्करोति किम्

Eternal, pure, awakened, and partless is the supreme Lord. You have said he grants liberation; but if he is partless, what does he do?

कालः करोति सकलं कालं कलयते सदा निष्कलं च मनः सर्वं मन्यते सो ऽपि निष्कलः

Time creates all that is manifest; time always measures time. The mind considers everything, even the partless, and that too is partless.

कर्मणा तस्य चैवेह जगत्सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम् किमत्र देवदेवस्य मूर्त्यष्टकमिदं जगत्

By his action, indeed, this whole world is established. What, then, is this eightfold form of the world of the god of gods?

विनाकाशं जगन्नैव विना क्ष्मां वायुना विना तेजसा वारिणा चैव यजमानं तथा विना

Without space, the world does not exist; nor without earth, nor without wind, nor without fire, nor water, nor the sacrificer.

भानुना शशिना लोकस् तस्यैतास्तनवः प्रभोः विचारतस्तु रुद्रस्य स्थूलमेतच्चराचरम्

Without the sun and the moon, the world does not exist. These are the forms of the Lord; considering thus, all that moves and does not move is the gross form of Rudra.

सूक्ष्मं वदन्ति ऋषयो यन्न वाच्यं द्विजोत्तमाः यतो वाचो निवर्तन्ते अप्राप्य मनसा सह

The seers speak of the subtle, which is not to be expressed, O best of twice-born; for words, along with the mind, turn back from it, not reaching.

आनन्दं ब्रह्मणो विद्वान् न बिभेति कुतश्चन न भेतव्यं तथा तस्माज् ज्ञात्वानन्दं पिनाकिनः

Knowing the bliss of Brahman, the wise one fears nothing from anywhere; therefore, having known the bliss of Pinākin, there is nothing to fear.

विभूतयश् च रुद्रस्य मत्वा सर्वत्र भावतः सर्वं रुद्र इति प्राहुर् मुनयस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः

Recognizing the manifestations of Rudra everywhere, those seers of truth declare, 'All is Rudra.'

नमस्कारेण सततं गौरवात्परमेष्ठिनः सर्वं तु खल्विदं ब्रह्म सर्वो वै रुद्र ईश्वरः

With constant reverence and salutation to the supreme Lord, indeed, all this is Brahman; all is Rudra, the Lord.

पुरुषो वै महादेवो महेशानः परः शिवः एवं विभुर्विनिर्दिष्टो ध्यानं तत्रैव चिन्तनम्

The Purusha is truly Mahadeva, the great Lord, the supreme Shiva. Thus he is described as all-pervading; meditation is contemplation on him alone.

चतुर्व्यूहेण मार्गेण विचार्यालोक्य सुव्रत संसारहेतुः संसारो मोक्षहेतुश् च निर्वृतिः

By the fourfold path, O virtuous one, having examined and considered, the cause of worldly existence is samsara, and the cause of liberation is release.

चतुर्व्यूहः समाख्यातश् चिन्तकस्येह योगिनः चिन्ता बहुविधा ख्याता सैकत्र परमेष्ठिना

The fourfold division has been described for the contemplative yogi here; many kinds of contemplation are known, but all are united in the supreme Lord.

सुनिष्ठेत्यत्र कथिता रुद्रं रौद्री न संशयः ऐन्द्री चेन्द्रे तथा सौम्या सोमे नारायणे तथा

Thus, it has been taught here without doubt: Rudra is in Raudrī, Indrī in Indra, Saumya in Soma, and likewise Nārāyaṇī in Nārāyaṇa.

सूर्ये वह्नौ च सर्वेषां सर्वत्रैवं विचारतः सैवाहं सो ऽहमित्येवं द्विधा संस्थाप्य भावतः

Considering everything in the sun, in fire, and everywhere, one should establish, in thought, the distinction: 'She is I, I am He,' in this twofold manner.

भक्तो ऽसौ नास्ति यस्तस्माच् चिन्ता ब्राह्मी न संशयः एवं ब्रह्ममयं ध्यायेत् पूर्वं विप्र चराचरम्

He is not a devotee who lacks this understanding; there is no doubt that such a one’s contemplation is not Brahmanic. Thus, O Brahmin, first meditate on all that moves and does not move as pervaded by Brahman.

चराचरविभागं च त्यजेदभिमतं स्मरन् त्याज्यं ग्राह्यम् अलभ्यं च कृत्यं चाकृत्यमेव च

One should abandon the distinction between moving and unmoving, remembering to give up attachment and aversion, the attainable and unattainable, what should be done and what should not be done.

यस्य नास्ति सुतृप्तस्य तस्य ब्राह्मी न चान्यथा आभ्यन्तरं समाख्यातम् एवमभ्यर्चनं क्रमात्

For one who is not fully content, there is no Brahmanic state; it is not otherwise. Thus, the inner worship has been described in order.

आभ्यन्तरार्चकाः पूज्या नमस्कारादिभिस् तथा विरूपा विकृताश्चापि न निन्द्या ब्रह्मवादिनः

Those who perform inner worship are to be honored with salutations and the like; even if they are deformed or misshapen, the speakers of Brahman are not to be reviled.

आभ्यन्तरार्चकाः सर्वे न परीक्ष्या विजानता निन्दका एव दुःखार्ता भविष्यन्त्यल्पचेतसः

All those who perform inner worship should not be judged by the wise; those who revile them, being of little understanding, will suffer distress.

यथा दारुवने रुद्रं विनिन्द्य मुनयः पुरा तस्मात्सेव्या नमस्कार्याः सदा ब्रह्मविदस् तथा

Just as the sages of old once reviled Rudra in the forest of Daru, so too, the knowers of Brahman must always be served and saluted.

वर्णाश्रमविनिर्मुक्ता वर्णाश्रमपरायणैः

Those freed from caste and stage of life, and those devoted to caste and stage of life—

इदानीं श्रोतुमिच्छामि पुरा दारुवने विभो प्रवृत्तं तद्वनस्थानां तपसा भावितात्मनाम्

Now I wish to hear, O Lord, about what happened long ago in the Daru forest, concerning those forest-dwelling ascetics whose souls were purified by austerity.

कथं दारुवनं प्राप्तो भगवान्नीललोहितः विकृतं रूपमास्थाय चोर्ध्वरेता दिगम्बरः

How did the Lord Nīlalohita, assuming a strange form, with his seed held upward and clad in the directions alone, come to the Daru forest?

किं प्रवृत्तं वने तस्मिन् रुद्रस्य परमात्मनः वक्तुमर्हसि तत्त्वेन देवदेवस्य चेष्टितम्

What happened in that forest concerning Rudra, the Supreme Self? You should truly tell what the God of gods did there.

तस्य तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा श्रुतिसारविदां वरः शिलादसूनुर्भगवान् प्राह किंचिद्भवं हसन्

Hearing these words, the best among those who know the essence of the scriptures, the blessed son of Śilāda, smiled a little and spoke.

मुनयो दारुगहने तपस्तेपुः सुदारुणम् तुष्ट्यर्थं देवदेवस्य सदारतनयाग्नयः

The sages performed severe austerities in the Daru forest, together with their wives, sons, and sacrificial fires, to please the God of gods.

तुष्टो रुद्रो जगन्नाथश् चेकितानो वृषध्वजः धूर्जटिः परमेशानो भगवान्नीललोहितः

Rudra, Lord of the universe, the wise one, the bull-bannered, the matted-haired, the supreme Lord, the blessed Nīlalohita, was pleased.

प्रवृत्तिलक्षणं ज्ञानं ज्ञातुं दारुवनौकसाम् परीक्षार्थं जगन्नाथः श्रद्धया क्रीडया च सः

Desiring to know the knowledge characterized by action among the dwellers of the Daru forest, the Lord of the universe, for the sake of examination, with faith and playfulness, did so.

निवृत्तिलक्षणज्ञानप्रतिष्ठार्थं च शङ्करः देवदारुवनस्थानां प्रवृत्तिज्ञानचेतसाम्

And Śaṅkara, for the establishment of knowledge characterized by renunciation among those in the divine Daru forest, whose minds were set on the knowledge of action—