Part of a series on Hindu scriptures
Vedas
Rigveda · Yajurveda
Samaveda · Atharvaveda
Vedic divisions
Samhita · Brahmana
Aranyaka  · Upanishad
Upanishads
Aitareya  · Bṛhadāraṇyaka
Īṣa  · Taittirīya · Chāndogya
Kena  · Muṇḍaka
Māṇḍūkya  ·Praśna
Śvetaśvatara
Vedanga
Śikshā · Chandas
Vyakarana · Nirukta
Jyotisha · Kalpa
Itihasa
Mahabharata · Ramayana
Other scriptures
Smriti · Purana
Bhagavad Gita · Sutra
Pancharatra · Tantra
Kumara Vyasa Bharata · Stotra
Hanuman Chalisa · Ramacharitamanas
Shikshapatri · Vachanamrut
See also
Mythology This box: view • talk • edit

Linga Purana, one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text, is divided into two parts. These parts contain the description regarding the origin of universe, origin of the linga, and emergence of Brahma and Vishnu, and all the Vedas from the Linga. In this Purana, Shiva directly tells sometimes the importance of worship of Linga and the correct rituals to be followed during the puja of the linga. Hindu scripture is overwhelmingly written in Sanskrit. ... Image File history File links Aum. ... The Vedas (Sanskrit: वेद) are the main scriptural texts of Hinduism, also known as the Sanatana Dharma, and are a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. ... The Rigveda (Sanskrit: , a tatpurusha compound of praise, verse and knowledge) is a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the gods. ... The Yajurveda (Sanskrit , a tatpurusha compound of sacrifice + veda knowledge) is one of the four Hindu Vedas. ... The Samaveda (Sanskrit: सामवेद, sāmaveda, a tatpurusha compound of ritual chant + knowledge ), is third in the usual order of enumeration of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures. ... The Atharvaveda (Sanskrit: अथर्ववेद, , a tatpurusha compound of , a type of priest, and meaning knowledge) is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the fourth Veda. According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Bhrigus and the... The Samhita (Sanskrit: joined or collected) is the basic text of each of the Vedas, comprising collections of hymns and ritual texts. ... The Brahmana (Sanskrit ब्राह्मण) are part of the Hindu Shruti; They are composed in Vedic Sanskrit, and the period of their composition is sometimes referred to as the Brahmanic period or age (approximately between 900 BC and 500 BC). ... The Aranyakas (Sanskrit आरण्यक, Forest Books, Forest Treatises) are part of the Hindu Shruti; these religious scriptures are sometimes argued to be part of either the Brahmanas or Upanishads. ... The Upanishads (Devanagari: उपनिषद्, ; also known as and ) are part of the Vedas and form the Hindu scriptures which primarily discuss philosophy, meditation and nature of God; they form the core spiritual thought of Vedantic Hinduism. ... The Aitareya Upanishad is one of the older, primary Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. ... The Upanishad is one of the older, primary (mukhya) Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. ... The Isha Upanishad () or Ishopanishad (), also known as the Ishavasya Upanishad (), is a Sanskrit poem (or sequence of mantras) from the Upanishads and is considered Åšruti by followers of a number of diverse traditions within Hinduism. ... The Taittiriya Upanishad is one of the Upanishads associated to the taittiriya samhita of the Black Yajurveda. ... The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the main ten Upanishads of Hinduism. ... The Kena Upanishad (), is one of the older, primary Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. ... Mundaka Upanishad is an Upanishad of the Atharva Veda. ... MāndÅ«kya Upanishad is one of the shortest Upanishads, that form the speculative metaphysical parts of the Hindu texts, the Vedas. ... Prashna Upanishad (IAST ) is one of the older, primary Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. ... The Shvetashvatara Upanishad is one of the 33 Upanishads of Krishna Yajurveda or Black Yajurveda . ... The Vedanga (IAST , member of the Veda) are six auxiliary disciplines for the understanding and tradition of the Vedas. ... Shiksha (IAST ) is one of the six Vedangas, treating the traditional Hindu science of phonetics and phonology of Sanskrit. ... The verses of the Vedas have a variety of different meters. ... The Sanskrit grammatical tradition of , is one of the six Vedanga disciplines. ... Nirukta is Vedic glossary of difficult words. ... Jyotisha (, in Hindi and English usage Jyotish) is the Hindu system of astrology, one of the six disciplines of Vedanga, and regarded as one of the oldest schools of ancient astrology to have had an independent origin, affecting all other schools in and around India. ... Kalpa is one of the six disciplines of Vedanga, treating ritual. ... Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent. ... Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra The (Devanagari: ), is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the . ... For the television series by Ramanand Sagar, see Ramayan (TV series). ... Smriti (Sanskrit स्मॄति, that which is remembered) refers to a specific canon of Hindu religious scripture. ... Purana (Sanskrit: पुराण , meaning ancient or old) is the name of a genre (or a group of related genres) of Hinduism literature (as distinct from oral literature). ... Bhagavad Gīta भगवद्गीता, composed ca the fifth - second centuries BC, is part of the epic poem Mahabharata, located in the Bhisma-Parva chapters 23–40. ... SÅ«tra (sex) (Sanskrit) or Sutta (Pāli) literally means a rope or thread that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism (or line, rule, formula), or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. ... Pañcaratra is an pre-Puranic form of Hinduism, which equated Narayana with Vishnu. ... The Tantra (Looms or Weavings), refer to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions rooted in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. ... Kumara Vyasa is the pen name of Gadhugina Naranappa who is one of the most famous poets in the Kannada language, spoken in the state of Karnataka, India. ... Stotras are Hindu prayers that praise aspects of God, such as Devi, Siva, or Vishnu. ... Hanuman Chalisa (Forty chaupais on Hanuman) is Tulsidas most famous and read piece of literature apart from the Ramacharitamanasa, a poem primarily praising Hanuman. ... ÅšrÄ« Rāmcaritmānas (Hindi: रामचरितमानस) is an epic poem composed by the great 16th-century Indian poet, Goswami Tulsidas (c. ... The Shikshapatri is a text of two hundred and twelve verses, and was written by Shree Swaminarayan, a reforming Hindu from the Vaishnava tradition, who lived in Gujarat from 1781-1830 and who was recognised by his followers as a deity during his lifetime. ... The Vachanamrut The Vachanamrut or the nectarine discourses of Bhagwan Swaminarayan is the most sacred and foundational scripture of the Swaminarayan Sampraday. ... Hindu mythology is a term used by modern scholarship for a large body of Indian literature that details the lives and times of legendary personalities, deities and divine incarnations on earth interspersed with often large sections of philosophical and ethical discourse. ... Purana (Sanskrit: पुराण , meaning ancient or old) is the name of a genre (or a group of related genres) of Hinduism literature (as distinct from oral literature). ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... Religious cosmologies are ways of explaining the history and evolution of the universe based, at least in part, on the acceptance of principles that cannot be justified by accepted scientific arguments (those are otherwise generally considered via physical cosmology). ... Linga worship (Estate of Cynthia and Harlen Welsh) Lingam or Linga is the Sanskrit word for mark. ... Brahma (written Brahmā in IAST) (Devanagari ब्रह्मा, pronounced as ) is the Hindu god (deva) of creation, and one of the Hindu Trinity - Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. ... Vishnu (IAST , Devanagari , with honorific Shri Vishnu; , ), (also frequently referred to as Narayana) is the most popularly worshipped form of God in Hinduism [1]. Within the Vaishnava tradition he is viewed as the Ultimate Reality or Supreme God (similarly to Shiva within Shaivism). ... The Vedas are part of the Hindu Shruti; these religious scriptures form part of the core of the Brahminical and Vedic traditions within Hinduism and are the inspirational, metaphysical and mythological foundation for later Vedanta, Yoga, Tantra and even Bhakti forms of Hinduism. ... Pinaki redirects here. ... A puja as performed in Ujjain during the Monsoon on the banks of the overflooding river Shipra. ...

Outline

• First part of this Purana describes the origin of the Linga, and details the process of its worship. It has also sections on the creation of the cosmos; immolation of Kama; marriage of Shiva; description of Surya and Soma; and description of Varaha and Narshimha avatars of Vishnu.
• Next part describes the prominence of Lord Vishnu, and the emergence of Brahma as the creator of the cosmos. It has several other accounts, including various aspects of Shiva
• Part three of the Linga Purana contains the description of the seven islands, Mount Meru and other prominent mountains. It also has an account of Brahma assigning divinities to various deities, including the radiance of the Surya.
• The next part has several accounts, including the account of Dhruva as the supreme devotee; origin of different deities; details of dynasties of Aaditya and Yadu; Andhak’s ascendancy to the position the lord of Ganas; annihilation of the demon Jalandhar; and the origin of Ganesh.
• The contents of the last part include the story of Upamanyu; significance of certain mantras; importance of gurus; different types of yoga; and procedure for installation of linga.

The word linga means 'sign' or 'icon'.

"The distinctive sign through which it is possible to recognize the nature of someone is called a linga." (Shiva Purana)

"Shiva is signless (sexless), without color, taste or smell, beyond word and touch, without quality, changeless, motionless." (Linga Purana)

This unmanifest being can be perceived only through his creation, which is his sign or linga. The existence of the unqualified substratum is known and worshiped only through this sign. The linga , the giver of life is one of the shapes which represents the nature of the shapeless.

"Shiva as the undivided causal principle is worshiped in the linga. His more manifest aspects are represented in anthropomorphic images. All other deities are part of a multiplicity and are thus worshiped as images." (Karapatri, "Shri Shiva Tattva", Siddhanta).

"The symbol of the Supreme Man (purusha), the formless, the changeless, the all-seeing eye, the linga. The symbol of the power that is Nature, generatrix of all that exists is the yoni." (Karapatri, "Lingopasana-rahasya", Siddhanta)

"Because she is the source of development, Nature (prakriti) is compared to a womb. The womb is Nature, basis of all. He is the giver of enjoyment. There is no other giver." (Shiva Purana)

The linga is the universal fecundator and as such is fundamentally one. But for each form of existence there is a different womb to be fecundated. Thus the different species are spoken of as yonis. The Puranas speak of 8,400,000 different kinds of beings or yonis.

There can be no creation without the relationship of the opposites. There could be no creation from Shiva alone, or from Nature alone. The union of a perceiver and a perceived, an enjoyer and the enjoyed, of a passive and active principle, is essential for creation to take place.

Transcendent manhood is the immanent cause of creation; transcendent womanhood is the efficient cause. There cannot be procreation without such union and there cannot be divine manifestation without their cosmic equivalent. It is only through understanding the symbolism of the linga and yoni that we can begin to apprehend the mysteries of creation.

Further reading

• Mani, Vettam. Puranic Encyclopedia. 1st English ed. New Dehli: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975.

References

• Sources: Linga Purana by Motilal Banarasidass