Linga Purana

कर्ता नेता च हर्ता च न मयास्ति समो विभुः अहमेव परं ब्रह्म परं तत्त्वं पितामह

"I alone am the creator, leader, and destroyer; there is no equal to me, O mighty one. I alone am the supreme Brahman, the highest reality, O Grandfather."

अहमेव परं ज्योतिः परमात्मा त्वहं विभुः यद्यद्दृष्टं श्रुतं सर्वं जगत्यस्मिंश्चराचरम्

"I alone am the supreme light, the supreme soul, the all-pervading one. Whatever is seen or heard in this world, moving or unmoving, is all within me."

तत्तद्विद्धि चतुर्वक्त्र सर्वं मन्मयमित्यथ मया सृष्टं पुराव्यक्तं चतुर्विंशतिकं स्वयम्

"Know, O four-faced one, that all this is made of me. Formerly, I created the unmanifest, the group of twenty-four principles, by myself."

नित्यान्ता ह्यणवो बद्धाः सृष्टाः क्रोधोद्भवादयः प्रसादाद्धि भवानण्डान्य् अनेकानीह लीलया

"The eternal atoms, bound together, were created—anger and others arising. By your grace, many eggs are produced here in sport."

सृष्टा बुद्धिर्मया तस्याम् अहङ्कारस्त्रिधा ततः तन्मात्रापञ्चकं तस्मान् मनः षष्ठेन्द्रियाणि च

"Intellect was created by me; from it, the threefold ego arose. From that, the five subtle elements; from them, the mind and the six senses."

आकाशादीनि भूतानि भौतिकानि च लीलया इत्युक्तवति तस्मिंश् च मयि चापि वचस् तथा

"The elements beginning with space, and their gross forms, were created by me in sport." When he had spoken thus, and I too had spoken likewise—

आवयोश्चाभवद्युद्धं सुघोरं रोमहर्षणम् प्रलयार्णवमध्ये तु रजसा बद्धवैरयोः

A fierce and hair-raising battle arose between us, in the midst of the ocean of dissolution, both of us bound by passion and enmity.

एतस्मिन्नन्तरे लिङ्गम् अभवच्चावयोः पुरः विवादशमनार्थं हि प्रबोधार्थं च भास्वरम्

At that moment, before us, a shining liṅga appeared, to end our dispute and to awaken understanding.

ज्वालामालासहस्राढ्यं कालानलशतोपमम् क्षयवृद्धिविनिर्मुक्तम् आदिमध्यान्तवर्जितम्

It was adorned with thousands of garlands of flames, resembling hundreds of fires of destruction, free from growth and decay, without beginning, middle, or end.

अनौपम्यमनिर्देश्यम् अव्यक्तं विश्वसंभवम् तस्य ज्वालासहस्रेण मोहितो भगवान् हरिः

That which is incomparable, indescribable, unmanifest, and the source of the universe—by its thousandfold blaze, the blessed Hari was bewildered.

मोहितं प्राह मामत्र परीक्षावो ऽग्निसंभवम् अधोगमिष्याम्यनलस्तंभस्यानुपमस्य च

Bewildered, he said to me there, 'Let us test this fire-born pillar; I will go downward to the matchless, fiery column.'

भवानूर्ध्वं प्रयत्नेन गन्तुमर्हसि सत्वरम् एवं व्याहृत्य विश्वात्मा स्वरूपमकरोत्तदा

You, with effort, should quickly go upward.' Having spoken thus, the Soul of the Universe then assumed his own form.

वाराहमहमप्याशु हंसत्वं प्राप्तवान्सुराः तदाप्रभृति मामाहुर्ह् अंसं हंसो विराडिति

I swiftly took the form of a boar, and the gods saw Hari take the form of a swan; from that time, they called me 'Hamsa,' the Great Swan.

हंसहंसेति यो ब्रूयान् मां हंसः स भविष्यति सुश्वेतो ह्यनलाक्षश् च विश्वतः पक्षसंयुतः

Whoever says 'Hamsa, Hamsa' to me, he shall become a swan—pure white, fire-eyed, and endowed with wings on all sides.

मनो ऽनिलजवो भूत्वा गतो ऽहं चोर्ध्वतः सुराः नारायणो ऽपि विश्वात्मा नीलाञ्जनचयोपमम्

Becoming as swift as the mind and wind, I went upward, O gods; and Narayana, the Soul of the Universe, dark as a mass of black collyrium,

दशयोजनविस्तीर्णं शतयोजनमायतम् मेरुपर्वतवर्ष्माणं गौरतीक्ष्णाग्रदंष्ट्रिणम्

Assumed a boar's form, ten yojanas wide and a hundred yojanas long, with the stature of Mount Meru, pale, with sharp, prominent fangs.

कालादित्यसमाभासं दीर्घघोणं महास्वरम् ह्रस्वपादं विचित्राङ्गं जैत्रं दृढम् अनौपमम्

Resembling the radiance of the sun at the end of time, with a long snout, a mighty voice, short legs, wondrous limbs, victorious, firm, and incomparable.

वाराहमसितं रूपम् आस्थाय गतवानधः एवं वर्षसहस्रं तु त्वरन्विष्णुरधोगतः

Assuming the boar's dark form, he went downward; thus, for a thousand years, Vishnu hastened below.

नापश्यदल्पमप्यस्य मूलं लिङ्गस्य सूकरः तावत्कालं गतो ह्यूर्ध्वम् अहमप्यरिसूदनः

The boar did not see even a little of the base of the linga; for the same length of time, I, the destroyer of foes, went upward.

सत्वरं सर्वयत्नेन तस्यान्तं ज्ञातुमिच्छया श्रान्तो ह्यदृष्ट्वा तस्यान्तम् अहङ्कारादधोगतः

With all speed and effort, desiring to know its end, I grew weary, and not seeing its limit, I descended out of pride.

तथैव भगवान् विष्णुः श्रान्तः संत्रस्तलोचनः सर्वदेवभवस्तूर्णम् उत्थितः सः महावपुः

In the same way, the blessed Vishnu, exhausted, his eyes trembling with fatigue, quickly rose up, his great form manifest to all the gods.

समागतो मया सार्धं प्रणिपत्य महामनाः मायया मोहितः शंभोस् तस्थौ संविग्नमानसः

He joined me, bowed with a great mind, and, deluded by Shambhu's maya, stood there, his heart disturbed.

पृष्ठतः पार्श्वतश्चैव चाग्रतः परमेश्वरम् प्रणिपत्य मया सार्धं सस्मार किमिदं त्विति

Behind, beside, and before the Supreme Lord, he bowed with me, and wondered, 'What is this?'

तदा समभवत्तत्र नादो वै शब्दलक्षणः ओमोमिति सुरश्रेष्ठाः सुव्यक्तः प्लुतलक्षणः

Then there arose there a sound, marked by the syllable—'Om, Om,' O best of gods—clearly, with a prolonged tone.

किमिदं त्विति संचिन्त्य मया तिष्ठन्महास्वनम् लिङ्गस्य दक्षिणे भागे तदापश्यत्सनातनम्

Thinking, 'What is this?' I stood, hearing that great sound, and then saw, on the right side of the linga, the eternal one.

आद्यवर्णमकारं तु उकारं चोत्तरे ततः मकारं मध्यतश्चैव नादान्तं तस्य चौमिति

I saw the first letter, 'A,' on the right; then 'U' on the left; and 'M' in the middle, and at the end, the sound 'Om.'

सूर्यमण्डलवद्दृष्ट्वा वर्णमाद्यं तु दक्षिणे उत्तरे पावकप्रख्यम् उकारं पुरुषर्षभः

Seeing the first letter, shining like the solar orb, on the right, and on the left, the letter 'U,' blazing like fire, O best of men.

शीतांशुमण्डलप्रख्यं मकारं मध्यमं तथा तस्योपरि तदापश्यच् छुद्धस्फटिकवत् प्रभुम्

He saw the middle syllable 'ma', shining like the orb of the moon, and above it, the Lord, pure as crystal.

तुरीयातीतम् अमृतं निष्कलं निरुपप्लवम् निर्द्वन्द्वं केवलं शून्यं बाह्याभ्यन्तरवर्जितम्

Beyond the fourth state, immortal, without parts, without disturbance, free from duality, absolute, void, devoid of inner and outer.