ಲಿಙ್ಗಪುರಾಣಮ್

ಕಾಲ, ಕಷ್ಠ, ಲವ, ಮಾಟ್ರ, ಮುಹೂರ್ತ, ಹಗಲು, ರಾತ್ರಿಯು, ಕ್ಷಣ—all these divisions of time, along with the giver of the universe’s vast field, the very seed and primal ಲಿಂಗ, the one who is without faces—these are all forms and aspects of the Supreme. He is both existence and non-existence, manifest and unmanifest; he is father, mother, grandfather; he is the gateway to heaven, the passage to liberation, the entrance to creation, and the threefold heaven itself. He is liberation, the heart, the very world of ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ, the supreme path. He is the creator of both ದೇವತೆಗಳು and ಅಸುರರು, and the ultimate refuge for them all. As their teacher and guide, he is worshipped by gods and asuras alike, serving as their great minister and protector. He oversees and leads their hosts, is the god of gods, the divine seer, and bestower of boons. He is the lord of all gods and asuras, known as ವಿಷ್ಣು, the great lord, embodying all deities, beyond comprehension, the very soul of divinities, and self-born. He rises up in three steps, is a healer, giver of boons, ever youthful, sky-clad, worshipped in many forms—as elephant, tiger, lion among gods, and the great bull. Foremost among the wise, supreme among gods, united, resplendent, the speaker, origin of all directions, imperishable—he is the teacher, beloved, his own creation, pure, bearer of all, horned and fond of horns, tawny, king of kings, free from disease. Charming and the best refuge, free from affliction, he is the means of all, with a third eye, the very body of the universe, deer-like, shining with the brilliance of Brahma. He is the lord of the immovable, controller of the senses, accomplished, the purpose of all beings, inconceivable, true, of pure vows. As the lord of vows, he is the supreme Brahman, the highest goal for the liberated, ever free, with loosened hair, glorious, increaser of prosperity, and the universe itself. Thus, in the principal order, I have praised this Blessed One with devotion, putting devotion first for the all-pervading Lord of sacrifice. With his permission, he who is the goal of the devoted, thus praised, grants the hymn of Shambhu to the king renowned in the three worlds. By this, the king attained the fruit equal to a thousand ashvamedha yajnas and received lordship over the hosts through the brilliance of Tandin, the Lord. Whoever recites, hears, or causes Brahmins to hear this hymn attains the merit of a thousand horse sacrifices. Even those burdened by the gravest sins—such as slaying a Brahmin, drinking liquor, theft, violating the guru’s bed, killing one who sought refuge, betraying a friend, or killing mother, father, hero, or an embryo—by reciting this hymn for a year at the three junctions of the day in Shankara’s hermitage, are freed from all sins. By worshipping the Lord at these times, one attains complete purification. Trಿಧನ್ವನ್, by the grace of the Lord of gods and through his own effort, attained the fruit equal to a thousand horse sacrifices. With firm devotion to ಗಣೇಶ and honored by all gods, Trಿಧನ್ವನ್, the wise king of the Trayyaruna lineage, lived thus. He had a son named ಸತ್ಯವ್ರತ, mighty in strength, who, by slaying the powerful king of Vidarbha, took his wife. However, before the marriage rites were completed with proper mantras, king Trayyaruna, deeming this act unrighteous, abandoned his son. Abandoned, ಸತ್ಯವ್ರತ asked his father, “Where shall I go?” and his father replied, “Live among the outcastes.” Obediently, ಸತ್ಯವ್ರತ left the city and, being wise, dwelt near the settlement of the outcastes. While his father went to the forest, the heroic ಸತ್ಯವ್ರತ lived there and became renowned in all worlds as the valiant ತ್ರಿಶಂಕು. Once, due to the anger of ವಸಿಷ್ಠ, the righteous king ಸತ್ಯವ್ರತ and the great sage ವಿಶ್ವಾಮಿತ್ರ, who had granted a boon to ತ್ರಿಶಂಕು, came into prominence. The sage ಕೌಶಿಕ, in the presence of the gods and ವಸಿಷ್ಠ, consecrated him as king in his ancestral kingdom and performed a great sacrifice for him. Then, that illustrious sage raised ತ್ರಿಶಂಕು bodily to heaven. Satyavrata’s wife, of the Kaikeya lineage, was also named ಸತ್ಯವ್ರತಾ. She gave birth to a son, ಹರಿಶ್ಚಂದ್ರ, pure and free from sin. ಹರಿಶ್ಚಂದ್ರ's son was the valiant ರೋಹಿತ. ರೋಹಿತ's son was ಹರಿತ, and ಧುಂಧು was known as ಹರಿತ's son. ಧುಂಧು had two sons, ವಿಜಯ and ಸುತೇಜಸ್. ವಿಜಯ, victorious everywhere over the kshatriyas, was well remembered. His son was the supremely righteous king ರುಚಕ. From ರುಚಕ came ವೃಕ, and from ವೃಕ was born ಬಹು; ಬಹು's son was ಸಾಗರ, the supremely righteous king. ಸಾಗರ had two wives, ಪ್ರಭಾ and ಭಾನುಮತಿ. Both worshipped the sage ಔರ್ವ with the desire for sons. Pleased, ಔರ್ವ granted them boons as they wished: one received sixty thousand sons, and the other a single son. ಪ್ರಭಾ accepted many sons to continue the lineage, while ಭಾನುಮತಿ accepted one son, ಅಸಮಾನ್ಜಸ್. From that radiance, sixty thousand sons were born, but while digging the earth, they were burnt by the missiles of ವಿಷ್ಣು's roar. ಅಸಮಾನ್ಜಸ್'s son was the renowned ಅಂಶುಮಾನ; his son was ದಿಲೀಪ, and from ದಿಲೀಪ came ಭಗೀರಥ. By the great austerity of ಭಗೀರಥ, ಗಂಗಾ descended to earth, and his son was known as ಶ್ರುತ. ಶ್ರುತ's heir was ನಾಭಾಗ, devoted to the Lord and powerful. His son was ಅಂಬರೀಷ, and from him came ಸಿಂಧುದ್ವೀಪ. ಇಂತಿ, ಈ ವಂಶಪರಂಪರೆ ಮತ್ತು ದೇವತೆಗಳ ಮಹಿಮೆ, ಭಕ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ವರ್ಣಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿದೆ.