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TheLinga Purana (लिङ्गपुराण,IAST:Liṅga-purāṇa) is one of the eighteenMahapuranas, and aShaivism text ofHinduism.^[1][2] The text's titleLinga refers to the iconographical symbol forShiva.^[1][3]

The author(s) and date of theLinga Purana are unknown, and estimates place the original text to have been composed between the 5th-10th century CE. The text exists in many versions and was likely revised over time and expanded.^[2][4] The extant text is structured into two parts, with a cumulative total of 163 chapters.^[5]

The text presentscosmology, mythology, seasons, festivals, geography, a tour guide for pilgrimage (Tirtha), a manual for the design and consecration of theLinga andNandi,stotras, the importance of these icons, a description ofYoga with claims of its various benefits.^[1][2][6]

The estimated composition dates for the oldest core ofLinga Purana vary among scholars, ranging from the 5th-century CE to the 10th-century.^[2][7]

Like all thePuranas, theLinga Purana has a complicated chronology. Cornelia Dimmitt andJ. A. B. van Buitenen state that each of thePuranas is encyclopedic in style, and it is difficult to ascertain when, where, why, and by whom these were written:^[4]

"As they exist today, the Puranas are a stratified literature. Each titled work consists of material that has grown by numerous accretions in successive historical eras. Thus no Purana has a single date of composition. (...) It is as if they were libraries to which new volumes have been continuously added, not necessarily at the end of the shelf, but randomly.

TheLinga Purana survives in many versions, consisting of two parts – thePurva-bhaga (older part, sometimes calledPurvardha) with 108 chapters andUttara-bhaga (later part, sometimes calledUttarardha) with 55 chapters.^[1][5] However, the manuscripts of the text assert in verse 2.55.37 that theUttara-bhaga only has 46 chapters, suggesting that the text was expanded over time.^[5] Some scholars suggest that the entireUttara-bhaga may be a later insertion or attachment to the older part.^[5]

The text is titled after its theme, which is the worship of Linga, and the text is primarily focused on Shiva as Supreme.^[1][8] However, along with Shiva-related themes, theLinga Purana includes chapters dedicated toVedic themes, as well as includes reverence forVishnu andBrahma.^[5][9]

Linga, statesAlain Daniélou, means sign.^[11] It is an important concept in Hindu texts, wherein Linga is a manifested sign and nature of someone or something. It accompanies the concept ofBrahman, which as invisible signless and existent Principle, is formless or linga-less.^[11] TheLinga Purana states, "Shiva is signless, without color, taste, smell, that is beyond word or touch, without quality, motionless and changeless".^[11] The source of the universe is signless, and all of the universe is the manifested Linga, a union of unchanging Principles and the ever-changing nature.^[11] TheLinga Purana text builds on this foundation.^[12]

TheLinga Purana consists of two parts – the longerPurva-bhaga and the shorterUttara-bhaga.^[1][5] They discuss diverse range of topics, and illustrative sections include:

• Cosmology: the text presents cosmology in several places. For example, in early chapters it refers to theShvetashvatara Upanishad, and in chapter 1.70 it presents aSamkhya-type cosmology.^[13]
• Astronomy: the Purana presents its theory of sun, moon, planets and stars in the night sky in chapters 1.55 to 1.61, with the mythology associated with each.^[14]
• Geography: the earth has seven continents asserts the text, and it then names and describes the mountains and rivers, what grows in various regions, the text is woven in with mythology.^[15]
• Tirtha (pilgrimage): the holy cities ofVaranasi,Kedarnath,Prayag andKurukshetra are extolled in chapters 1.77 and 1.92, for example.^[16]
• Yoga and ethics: theLinga Purana discusses Pashupata Yoga and ethics in many sections, such as chapters 1.8, 1.88-1.89, 2.13, 2.55 and others.^[17][18]

The Linga Purana is notable for its aggressiveness in retaliating against those who censure Shiva, suggesting in chapter 1.107 that Shiva devotee should be willing to give his life to end the censorship of Shiva, if necessary with violence against those who censure Shiva.^[5] In Chapter 1.78, the text also emphasizes the virtues of non-violence, stating, "violence should be avoided always, and at all places."^[21]

The Linga Purana's ideas incorporate, states Stella Kramrisch, those of theSamkhya school ofHindu philosophy.^[12] The chapter 1.17 of theLinga Purana introducesLinga asPradhana orPrakriti (cosmic substance), while Shiva is described asLingin, or one with this "subtle body".^[12] Lingam is presented by the text as an abstract concept, theformless reality, contrasted withAlinga (Vyakta), along with its phallic significance with the sexual truth in nature's process of life creation in the universe. The verses of the text, states Kramrisch, presentLinga as ananiconic symbol of both the matter and the spirit, thePrakriti and thePurusha, whereby the "powers of creation, liberation, and annihilation" are symbolized by the icon.^[12]

• Dimmitt, Cornelia; van Buitenen, J. A. B. (2012).Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas. Temple University Press (1st Edition: 1977).ISBN 978-1-4399-0464-0.
• Kramrisch, Stella (1994).The Presence of Śiva. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.ISBN 978-0691019307.
• Dalal, Rosen (2014).Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin.ISBN 978-8184752779.
• K P Gietz; et al. (1992).Epic and Puranic Bibliography (Up to 1985) Annotated and with Indexes: Part I: A - R, Part II: S - Z, Indexes. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.ISBN 978-3-447-03028-1.
• Rocher, Ludo (1986).The Puranas. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.ISBN 978-3447025225.

• The Linga Purana Proofread English translation by J. L. Shastri, 1951 (includes glossary)
• Linga Purana – Part 1 at theInternet Archive, English translation by J. L. Shastri (1951)
• Linga Purana – Part 2 at theInternet Archive, English translation by J. L. Shastri (1951)

• Puranas

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