Linga Purana

शर्वश्चाण्डकपालस्थो भवश्चांभसि सुव्रताः रुद्रो ऽग्निमध्ये भगवान् उग्रो वायौ पुनः स्मृतः

Śarva abides in the skull of the egg, Bhava in the waters, Rudra, the blessed one, in the midst of fire, and Ugra is again remembered as being in the air.

भीमश्चावनिमध्यस्थो ह्य् अहङ्कारे महेश्वरः बुद्धौ च भगवानीशः सर्वतः परमेश्वरः

Bhīma is situated in the midst of the earth, Maheśvara in the ego, and the blessed Lord Īśa in the intellect—everywhere, the Supreme Lord.

एतैरावरणैरण्डं सप्तभिः प्राकृतैर् वृतम् एता आवृत्य चान्योन्यम् अष्टौ प्रकृतयः स्थिताः

With these seven natural coverings, the egg is enveloped; and, having covered one another, these eight principles remain established.

प्रसर्गकाले स्थित्वा तु ग्रसन्त्येताः परस्परम् एवं परस्परोत्पन्ना धारयन्ति परस्परम्

At the time of creation, having remained thus, they consume each other; thus, being mutually produced, they support one another.

आधाराधेयभावेन विकारास्ते विकारिषु महेश्वरः परो ऽव्यक्ताद् अण्डम् अव्यक्तसंभवम्

In the relationship of support and supported, these modifications reside in the modified; the Supreme Maheśvara, beyond the unmanifest, is the source of the egg, which arises from the unmanifest.

अण्डाज्जज्ञे स एवेशः पुरुषो ऽर्कसमप्रभः तस्मिन्कार्यस्य करणं संसिद्धं स्वेच्छयैव तु

From the egg, that very Lord was born, the Purusha, radiant like the sun; in him, the means for the work was perfectly established by his own will.

स वै शरीरी प्रथमः स वै पुरुष उच्यते तस्य वामाङ्गजो विष्णुः सर्वदेवनमस्कृतः

He is indeed the first embodied being, called the Purusha; from his left side arose Viṣṇu, honored by all the gods.

लक्ष्म्या देव्या ह्यभूद्देव इच्छया परमेष्ठिनः दक्षिणाङ्गभवो ब्रह्मा सरस्वत्या जगद्गुरुः

From the will of the supreme Lord, the goddess Lakṣmī was born; from his right side came Brahmā, the teacher of the world, with Sarasvatī.

तस्मिन्नण्डे इमे लोका अन्तर्विश्वमिदं जगत् चन्द्रादित्यौ सनक्षत्रौ सग्रहौ सह वायुना

Within that egg are these worlds, and this entire universe; the moon and sun, with their constellations and planets, along with the wind.

लोकालोकद्वयं किंचिद् अण्डे ह्यस्मिन्समर्पितम् यत्तु सृष्टौ प्रसंख्यातं मया कालान्तरं द्विजाः

Both the world and the non-world are, to some extent, contained within this egg; and whatever has been enumerated by me at the time of creation, O twice-born, is so.

एतत्कालान्तरं ज्ञेयम् अहर्वै पारमेश्वरम् रात्रिश्चैतावती ज्ञेया परमेशस्य कृत्स्नशः

This period should be understood as the day of the Supreme Lord; and the night of the Supreme is to be known as of the same extent, in its entirety.

अहस्तस्य तु या सृष्टिः रात्रिश् च प्रलयः स्मृतः नाहस्तु विद्यते तस्य न रात्रिरिति धारयेत्

The creation of the one without hands, and the night, are called dissolution; for the one without hands, neither night nor dissolution exists, this should be understood.

उपचारस्तु क्रियते लोकानां हितकाम्यया इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थाश् च महाभूतानि पञ्च च

A figurative explanation is given for the benefit of the worlds, concerning the senses, their objects, and the five great elements.

तस्मात् सर्वाणि भूतानि बुद्धिश् च सह दैवतैः अहस्तिष्ठन्ति सर्वाणि परमेशस्य धीमतः

Therefore, all beings, along with intellect and the deities, exist without hands, all established in the supreme, wise Lord.

अहरन्ते प्रलीयन्ते रात्र्यन्ते विश्वसंभवः स्वात्मन्यवस्थिते व्यक्ते विकारे प्रतिसंहृते

They are absorbed and dissolve at the end of the night, when the universe comes into being, remaining in their own nature, when the manifest and its modifications are withdrawn.

साधर्म्येणावतिष्ठेते प्रधानपुरुषावुभौ तमःसत्त्वरजोपेतौ समत्वेन व्यवस्थितौ

Both Pradhāna and Puruṣa remain together by their inherent nature, endowed with darkness, goodness, and passion, established in equality.

अनुपृक्तावभूतां ताव् ओतप्रोतौ परस्परम् गुणसाम्ये लयो ज्ञेयो वैषम्ये सृष्टिरुच्यते

Those two, pervaded and interwoven with each other, should be understood as merging when their qualities are equal, and creation is said to occur when there is inequality.

तिले यथा भवेत्तैलं घृतं पयसि वा स्थितम् तथा तमसि सत्त्वे च रजस्यनुसृतं जगत्

Just as oil exists in sesame and ghee in milk, so too the world follows goodness in darkness and passion.

उपास्य रजनीं कृत्स्नां परां माहेश्वरीं तथा अर्हमुखे प्रवृत्तश् च परः प्रकृतिसंभवः

Having worshipped the entire night, the supreme Māheśvarī, the supreme one, arising from the mouth of the worthy, is born from Prakṛti.

क्षोभयामास योगेन परेण परमेश्वरः प्रधानं पुरुषं चैव प्रविश्य स महेश्वरः

The supreme Lord, by supreme yoga, stirred Pradhāna and Puruṣa, and entering them, he became Maheśvara.

महेश्वरात्त्रयो देवा जज्ञिरे जगदीश्वरात् शाश्वताः परमा गुह्यः सर्वात्मानः शरीरिणः

From Maheśvara, the Lord of the world, three gods were born, eternal, supreme, mysterious, embodying all beings.

एत एव त्रयो देवा एत एव त्रयो गुणाः एत एव त्रयो लोका एत एव त्रयो ऽग्नयः

These three gods are the same as the three qualities, the same as the three worlds, and the same as the three fires.

परस्पराश्रिता ह्येते परस्परमनुव्रताः परस्परेण वर्तन्ते धारयन्ति परस्परम्

These are mutually dependent, devoted to one another, interacting with each other, and sustaining each other.

अन्योन्यमिथुना ह्येते अन्योन्यमुपजीविनः क्षणं वियोगो न ह्येषां न त्यजन्ति परस्परम्

These are paired with each other, mutually supporting, never separated even for a moment, and never abandon one another.

ईश्वरस्तु परो देवो विष्णुश् च महतः परः ब्रह्मा च रजसा युक्तः सर्गादौ हि प्रवर्तते

The supreme Lord is the highest god, and Viṣṇu is beyond the great, while Brahmā, endowed with passion, acts at the beginning of creation.

परः स पुरुषो ज्ञेयः प्रकृतिः सा परा स्मृता

That supreme is known as Puruṣa, and Prakṛti is remembered as supreme.

अधिष्ठिता सा हि महेश्वरेण प्रवर्तते चोद्यमने समन्तात् अनुप्रवृत्तस्तु महांस्तदेनां चिरस्थिरत्वाद् विषयं श्रियः स्वयम्

She is governed by Maheśvara and acts when stirred in every way; the great one, entering her, remains for a long time, and she herself becomes the domain of prosperity.

प्रधानगुणवैषम्यात् सर्गकालः प्रवर्तते ईश्वराधिष्ठितात्पूर्वं तस्मात्सदसदात्मकात्

Due to the inequality of Pradhāna's qualities, the time of creation begins; before being governed by Īśvara, it is of the nature of both existence and non-existence.

संसिद्धः कार्यकरणे रुद्रश्चाग्रे ह्यवर्तत तेजसाप्रतिमो धीमान् अव्यक्तः सम्प्रकाशकः

Rudra, accomplished in cause and effect, appeared first, unmatched in brilliance and wisdom, unmanifest yet illuminating.