Linga Purana

अथैवं ते तदा दग्धा देवा देवेश्वरं हरिम् अभिवन्द्य तदा प्राहुस् तमप्रतिमवर्चसम्

Then, when they were thus destroyed, the gods approached Hari, Lord of the gods, and praised him, for his splendor was without equal.

सो ऽपि नारायणः श्रीमान् चिन्तयामास चेतसा किं कार्यं देवकार्येषु भगवानिति स प्रभुः

That glorious Nārāyaṇa then pondered in his mind, 'What should be done for the sake of the gods?'—so thought the Lord.

तदा सस्मार वै यज्ञं यज्ञमूर्तिर्जनार्दनः यज्वा यज्ञभुगीशानो यज्वनां फलदः प्रभुः

Then Janārdana, the embodiment of sacrifice, remembered the sacrifice; the Lord, enjoyer of sacrifice, giver of fruits to sacrificers, and master of all sacrifices.

ततो यज्ञः स्मृतस्तेन देवकार्यार्थसिद्धये देवं ते पुरुषं चैव प्रणेमुस्तुष्टुवुस्तदा

Then, remembering the sacrifice for the accomplishment of the gods’ purpose, they bowed and praised that divine Person.

भगवानपि तं दृष्ट्वा यज्ञं प्राह सनातनम् सनातनस्तदा सेन्द्रान् देवान् आलोक्य चाच्युतः

And the Blessed Lord, seeing that eternal sacrifice, spoke; then the eternal Acyuta, beholding the gods with Indra, addressed them.

अनेनोपसदा देवा यजध्वं परमेश्वरम् पुरत्रयविनाशाय जगत्त्रयविभूतये

With this approach, O gods, worship the Supreme Lord, for the destruction of the three cities and the manifestation of power over the three worlds.

अथ तस्य वचः श्रुत्वा देवदेवस्य धीमतः सिंहनादं महत्कृत्वा यज्ञेशं तुष्टुवुः सुराः

Then, having heard the words of the wise Lord of gods, the gods let out a great roar and praised the Lord of sacrifice.

ततः संचिन्त्य भगवान् स्वयमेव जनार्दनः पुनः प्राह स सर्वांस्तांस् त्रिदशांस्त्रिदशेश्वरः

Thereafter, the blessed Janardana, having reflected, again addressed all those gods, he who is the Lord of the immortals.

हत्वा दग्ध्वा च भूतानि भुक्त्वा चान्यायतो ऽपि वा यजेद्यदि महादेवम् अपापो नात्र संशयः

Even if one kills, burns, or consumes beings unjustly, if he worships Mahadeva, he becomes free from sin—of this there is no doubt.

अपापा नैव हन्तव्याः पापा एव न संशयः हन्तव्याः सर्वयत्नेन कथं वध्याः सुरोत्तमाः

The sinless must never be slain; only the sinful, without doubt, should be killed with all effort—how could the best of gods be fit for killing?

असुरा दुर्मदाः पापा अपि देवैर्महाबलैः तस्मान्न वध्या रुद्रस्य प्रभावात् परमेष्ठिनः

The Asuras, though arrogant and sinful, are not to be slain by the mighty gods; therefore, due to the power of Rudra, the Supreme Lord, they must not be killed.

को ऽहं ब्रह्माथवा देवा दैत्या देवारिसूदनाः मुनयश् च महात्मानः प्रसादेन विना प्रभोः

Who am I, or Brahma, or the gods, or the Daityas, or the slayers of the enemies of the gods, or even the great sages—without the grace of the Lord?

यः सप्तविंशको नित्यः परात्परतरः प्रभुः विश्वामरेश्वरो वन्द्यो विश्वाधारो महेश्वरः

He who is the twenty-seventh, eternal, the supreme among the supreme, Lord of the universe and the immortals, worthy of worship, the supporter of all, the great Lord—

स एव सर्वदेवेशः सर्वेषामपि शङ्करः लीलया देवदैत्येन्द्रविभागमकरोद्धरः

He alone, the Lord of all gods, the beneficent one of all, by his play divided the gods and the lords of the Daityas.

तस्यांशम् एकं सम्पूज्य देवा देवत्वम् आगताः ब्रह्मा ब्रह्मत्वम् आपन्नो ह्य् अहं विष्णुत्वमेव च

By worshipping even a portion of him, the gods attained divinity, Brahma attained the state of Brahma, and I, indeed, attained the state of Vishnu.

तम् अपूज्य जगत्यस्मिन् कः पुमान् सिद्धिमिच्छति तस्मात्तेनैव हन्तव्या लिङ्गार्चनविधेर् बलात्

Who in this world, without worshipping him, could desire success? Therefore, by the power of the rite of worshipping the Linga, they must be slain by him alone.

धर्मनिष्ठाश् च ते सर्वे श्रौतस्मार्तविधौ स्थिताः तथापि यजमानेन रौद्रेणोपसदा प्रभुम् रुद्रमिष्ट्वा यथान्यायं जेष्यामो दैत्यसत्तमान्

All of them are established in righteousness, in both Vedic and Smriti rites; yet, by the fierce approach of the sacrificer, having duly worshipped Rudra, we shall conquer the foremost of the Daityas.

सतारकाक्षेण मयेन गुप्तं स्वस्थं च गुप्तं स्फटिकाभमेकम् को नाम हन्तुं त्रिपुरं समर्थो मुक्त्वा त्रिनेत्रं भगवन्तमेकम्

Tripura, protected by the virtuous-eyed Maya, and secure, shining like crystal—who indeed is capable of destroying it, except for the one Lord with three eyes?

एवमुक्त्वा हरिश्चेष्ट्वा यज्ञेनोपसदा प्रभुम् उपविष्टो ददर्शाथ भूतसंघान्सहस्रशः

Having spoken thus, Hari, having performed the approach with sacrifice, sat down and beheld thousands of hosts of beings.

शूलशक्तिगदाहस्तान् टङ्कोपलशिलायुधान् नानाप्रहरणोपेतान् नानावेषधरांस्तदा

He saw them holding tridents, spears, maces, axes, stones, and various weapons, adorned in diverse forms.

कालाग्निरुद्रसंकाशान् कालरुद्रोपमांस्तदा प्राह देवो हरिः साक्षात् प्रणिपत्य स्थितान् प्रभुः

Resembling the fire of destruction, like Rudra at the end of time, the Lord Hari, having bowed, addressed those who stood before him.

दग्ध्वा भित्त्वा च भुक्त्वा च गत्वा दैत्यपुरत्रयम् पुनर्यथागतं वीरा गन्तुमर्हथ भूतये

Having burned, pierced, and consumed the three cities of the Daityas, you heroes should return as you came, for the benefit of beings.

ततः प्रणम्य देवेशं भूतसंघाः पुरत्रयम् प्रविश्य नष्टास्ते सर्वे शलभा इव पावकम्

Then, having bowed to the Lord of gods, the hosts of beings entered the three cities and all perished, like moths in a flame.

ततस्तु नष्टास्ते सर्वे भूता देवेश्वराज्ञया ननृतुर् मुमुदुश् चैव जगुर् दैत्याः सहस्रशः

Then, by the command of the Lord of the gods, all those beings perished; the Daityas, by the thousands, danced, rejoiced, and sang.

तुष्टुवुर्देवदेवेशं परमात्मानमीश्वरम् ततः पराजिता देवा ध्वस्तवीर्याः क्षणेन तु

They praised the Lord of gods, the Supreme Self, the Lord; then the gods, having been defeated and their strength destroyed in a moment,

सेन्द्राः संगम्य देवेशम् उपेन्द्रं धिष्ठिता भयात् तान्दृष्ट्वा चिन्तयामास भगवान्पुरुषोत्तमः

Joined by Indra, the gods approached Upendra, the Lord of gods, and, out of fear, the Blessed Supreme Person, seeing them, began to reflect.

किं कृत्यमिति संतप्तः संतप्तान्सेन्द्रकान्क्षणम् कथं तु तेषां दैत्यानां बलं हत्वा प्रयत्नतः

Afflicted, he wondered, 'What should be done?' and, seeing the afflicted gods with Indra, he considered for a moment: 'How, by effort, can the strength of those Daityas be destroyed?'

देवकार्यं करिष्यामि प्रसादात्परमेष्ठिनः पापं विचारतो नास्ति धर्मिष्ठानां न संशयः

'By the grace of the Supreme Lord, I will accomplish the task of the gods; there is no sin in acting righteously—of this there is no doubt for the virtuous.'

तस्माद्दैत्या न वध्यास्ते भूतैश्चोपसदोद्भवैः पापं नुदति धर्मेण धर्मे सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम्

'Therefore, those Daityas are not to be slain by beings born of ritual or by spirits; sin is dispelled by righteousness, and all is established in righteousness.'