Linga Purana

शब्दः स्पर्शो रसो गन्धो रूपं चैव मनस् तथा प्रवर्तन्ते ऽस्य चेच्छातो न भवन्ति यथेच्छया

Sound, touch, taste, smell, form, and likewise mind—these arise according to his wish, or do not, as he desires.

न जायते न म्रियते छिद्यते न च भिद्यते न दह्यते न मुह्येत लीयते न च लिप्यते

He is not born, nor does he die; he is not cut, nor is he split; he is not burned, nor does he become deluded; he is not dissolved, nor is he stained.

न क्षीयते न क्षरति खिद्यते न कदाचन क्रियते वा न सर्वत्र तथा विक्रियते न च

He is not diminished, nor does he decay; he is never afflicted; he is not made, nor is he transformed everywhere in that way.

अगन्धरसरूपस्तु अस्पर्शः शब्दवर्जितः अवर्णो ह्यस्वरश् चैव असवर्णस्तु कर्हिचित्

He is without smell, taste, or form; without touch, devoid of sound; without color, without tone, and sometimes without any characteristic.

स भुङ्क्ते विषयांश्चैव विषयैर्न च युज्यते अणुत्वात्तु परः सूक्ष्मः सूक्ष्मत्वाद् अपवर्गिकः

He enjoys the objects, yet is not bound by them; being subtler than the subtle, he is supreme; because of subtlety, he is liberating.

व्यापकस्त्वपवर्गाच्च व्यापकात्पुरुषः स्मृतः पुरुषः सूक्ष्मभावात्तु ऐश्वर्ये परमे स्थितः

Because it is all-pervading and leads to liberation, the all-pervading one is called the Puruṣa; due to its subtle nature, the Puruṣa abides in supreme sovereignty.

गुणोत्तरमथैश्वर्ये सर्वतः सूक्ष्ममुच्यते ऐश्वर्यं चाप्रतीघातं प्राप्य योगमनुत्तमम्

Transcending the qualities and in sovereignty, it is called the most subtle everywhere; attaining sovereignty that is unobstructed, one attains the highest yoga.

अपवर्गं ततो गच्छेत् सूक्ष्मं तत्परमं पदम् एवं पाशुपतं योगं ज्ञातव्यं मुनिपुङ्गवाः

From there, one proceeds to liberation, to that subtle, supreme state; thus, O best of sages, the Pāśupata yoga is to be known.

स्वर्गापवर्गफलदं शिवसायुज्यकारणम् अथवा गतविज्ञानो रागात्कर्म समाचरेत्

It yields the fruits of heaven and liberation, and is the cause of union with Śiva; or, if one acts out of passion, having attained knowledge of the path, one performs actions.

राजसं तामसं वापि भुक्त्वा तत्रैव मुच्यते तथा सुकृतकर्मा तु फलं स्वर्गे समश्नुते

Having experienced actions born of passion or darkness, one is released there itself; likewise, one who has performed virtuous deeds enjoys the fruit in heaven.

तस्मात्स्थानात्पुनः श्रेष्ठो मानुष्यमुपपद्यते तस्माद्ब्रह्म परं सौख्यं ब्रह्म शाश्वतम् उत्तमम्

From that place, the best is again reborn as a human; from there, one attains the supreme bliss of Brahman, the eternal and highest Brahman.

ब्रह्म एव हि सेवेत ब्रह्मैव हि परं सुखम् परिश्रमो हि यज्ञानां महतार्थेन वर्तते

Indeed, one should serve Brahman alone, for Brahman is the highest happiness; the effort of great sacrifices is truly for this purpose.

भूयो मृत्युवशं याति तस्मान्मोक्षः परं सुखम् अथवा ध्यानसंयुक्तो ब्रह्मतत्त्वपरायणः

Again one falls under the power of death; therefore, liberation is the highest happiness; or, being joined with meditation, devoted to the truth of Brahman—

न तु च्यावयितुं शक्यो मन्वन्तरशतैरपि दृष्ट्वा तु पुरुषं दिव्यं विश्वाख्यं विश्वतोमुखम्

He cannot be shaken even by hundreds of aeons; having seen the divine Puruṣa, called Viśva, facing all directions—

विश्वपादशिरोग्रीवं विश्वेशं विश्वरूपिणम् विश्वगन्धं विश्वमाल्यं विश्वांबरधरं प्रभुम्

With the universe as his feet, head, and neck, the Lord of the universe, of universal form, with universal fragrance, universal garland, the Lord clothed in the universe—

गोभिर् महीं संपतते पतत्रिणो नैवं भूयो जनयत्येवमेव कविं पुराणम् अनुशासितारं सूक्ष्माच्च सूक्ष्मं महतो महान्तम्

He moves the earth with cows, and birds do not generate again in this way; thus is the ancient sage, the ruler, subtler than the subtle, greater than the great.

योगेन पश्येन्न च चक्षुषा पुनर् निरिन्द्रियं पुरुषं रुक्मवर्णम् अलिङ्गिनं निर्गुणं चेतनं च नित्यं सदा सर्वगं सर्वसारम्

He is to be seen by yoga, not by the eye; again, the sense-transcending Puruṣa, golden-hued, without mark, qualityless, conscious, eternal, always, all-pervading, the essence of all.

अपाणिपादोदरपार्श्वजिह्वो ह्यतीन्द्रियो वापि सुसूक्ष्म एकः

Without hands, feet, belly, sides, or tongue, indeed, he is beyond the senses, extremely subtle, and one alone.

स वेद सर्वं न च सर्ववेद्यं तमाहुरग्र्यं पुरुषं महान्तम्

He knows all, but is not known by all; they call him the foremost, the great Puruṣa.

अचेतनां सर्वगतां सूक्ष्मां प्रसवधर्मिणीम् प्रकृतिं सर्वभूतानां युक्ताः पश्यन्ति योगिनः

Yogis perceive Prakṛti, insentient, all-pervading, subtle, the source of creation, joined to all beings.

सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत् सर्वतो ऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् सर्वतः श्रुतिमल् लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति

That one has hands and feet everywhere, faces, heads, and mouths everywhere; with ears everywhere in the world, pervading all, he abides.

युक्तो योगेन चेशानं सर्वतश् च सनातनम् पुरुषं सर्वभूतानां तं विद्वान्न विमुह्यति

United with yoga, the wise one knows the Lord, eternal, everywhere, the Puruṣa of all beings, and is not deluded.

भूतात्मानं महात्मानं परमात्मानमव्ययम् सर्वात्मानं परं ब्रह्म तद्वै ध्याता न मुह्यति

He who meditates on the self of all beings, the great self, the imperishable supreme self, the all-self, the supreme Brahman, does not become deluded.

पवनो हि यथा ग्राह्यो विचरन्सर्वमूर्तिषु पुरि शेते सुदुर्ग्राह्यस् तस्मात्पुरुष उच्यते

Just as the wind, though present in all forms, is difficult to grasp and dwells within the body, so too is the person called 'puruṣa'—subtle and hard to comprehend.

अथ चेल्लुप्तधर्मा तु सावशेषैः स्वकर्मभिः ततस्तु ब्रह्मगर्भे वै शुक्रशोणितसंयुते

If, however, one departs with residual karma remaining, then, united with semen and blood, one enters the womb of Brahma.

स्त्रीपुंसोः संप्रयोगे हि जायते हि ततः प्रभुः ततस्तु गर्भकालेन कललं नाम जायते

Indeed, from the union of man and woman, the lord is born; then, in due time, what is called the 'kalala' (embryonic mass) arises.

कालेन कललं चापि बुद्बुदं सम्प्रजायते मृत्पिण्डस्तु यथा चक्रे चक्रावर्तेन पीडितः

In time, the kalala becomes a bubble, just as a lump of clay is shaped by the turning of a wheel.

हस्ताभ्यां क्रियमाणस्तु बिंबत्वमनुगच्छति एवमाध्यात्मिकैर्युक्ता वायुना संप्रपूरितः

When shaped by the hands, it takes the form of a sphere; thus, endowed with inner energies and filled by the vital wind, it develops.

यदि योनिं विमुञ्चामि तत्प्रपद्ये महेश्वरम् यावद्धि वैष्णवो वायुर् जातमात्रं न संस्पृशेत्

If I leave the womb, I will seek refuge in the great Lord; until the Vaiṣṇava wind touches the newborn, one should contemplate worshipping Mahādeva.