Liṅgodbhava (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa)

This account is in Chapter 26 of the Pūrva Bhāga of the Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa. It tells how Parameśvara appeared as an endless column of light, the jyotir-liṅga. Bhagavān Vishṇu tells it himself, in the first person, to the devas. He says that his own success and Brahmā’s come only from the grace of Śiva.

In this telling both Brahmā and Vishṇu are puzzled and humbled by what they see. The chapter also keeps a long prayer to Śiva sung by Brahmā and Vishṇu together. It ends with Śiva’s words that both were born from his body.

After Vāmana’s victory

Bhagavān Vāmana had bound Bali and won the three worlds back for Indra. Then the devas, siddhas, brahmarshis, yakshas, gandharvas, apsarasas, nāgas, rivers and holy mountains gathered at the Kshīra Sāgara to praise Bhagavān Vishṇu. They stood before the great Purushottama and sang:

“You are Dhātā, the support of all. You are the creator and the protector. By your grace the three worlds have found lasting welfare. All the rākshasas were conquered through you. Bali was bound through you.”

Bhagavān Vishṇu heard the salutations of the whole gathering. He spoke to the devas about what he had seen and understood himself. He said:

“Whatever I have done was through his prasāda (grace), the grace of Śiva, who made both me and Brahmā through māyā. I will tell you what I saw with my own eyes and what has been shown to me since.”

Vishṇu tells what he saw

Bhagavān Vishṇu said: “In the first age, when the three worlds were dissolved in me, I lay asleep on the clear waters. I had a thousand heads, a thousand eyes and a thousand feet, and in my hands I held the śaṅkha, the cakra and the gadā. In the depth of that sleep I saw a light far away. It shone like a hundred suns, blazing with its own tejas (radiance). It had four faces and great light of yoga. It wore the black deer-skin and held a kamaṇḍalu (water-pot). It was a great mahā-purusha (great person) of golden brightness.”

He went on: “In one moment I rose from the waters and went to this being. It was Brahmā, the four-faced Prajāpati. He said to me, ‘Who are you? Where have you come from? Why are you here? Tell me.’ I answered, ‘I am the creator of all these worlds. I am the one who destroys them at each pralaya (dissolution). I am self-born.’ He said the same of himself. So we argued, each of us claiming to be the creator.”

The endless column of fire

Bhagavān Vishṇu continued: “While Brahmā and I argued, a blazing flame (jvāla) appeared in the north. It burned with matchless tejas and grew in every direction at once. It was a column of fire that pierced the earth below and the sky above. We were both struck with wonder. The shining circle of that flame wrapped around the sky and the earth, piercing them from above and from below.”

“In the centre of the flame a liṅga appeared. It was only as long as a prādeśa, the span from thumb to little finger. Yet it was endlessly bright, throbbing, appearing and vanishing. It blazed with thousands of garlands of flame. Nothing could be compared with it and nothing could describe it. The wonder of it filled us.”

Brahmā said to Vishṇu: “Go down into the lower world at once. I will go up. Let us find the limit of this liṅga.” They agreed. Brahmā went up and Vishṇu went down.

Bhagavān Vishṇu said: “I travelled a full thousand years through the lower world, and I could not find the base of the liṅga. Brahmā went upward for the same time, and he could not find the top. We both came back to where we had begun, bewildered, filled with awe, and humbled.”

The prayer of Brahmā and Vishṇu

They were deeply moved, and the pride of being the creator left them. Brahmā and Vishṇu together offered their prayer to that supreme wonder. They came to the liṅga with folded hands and said:

“Obeisance to you, O Lokeśa (ruler of the worlds), O Sureśa (ruler of the devas), O Deva! Obeisance to you, O Mahātmā, O Bhūtapati! Obeisance to you, O eternal one, O perfect yogin! Obeisance to you who are established in all the world! You are the Parameshṭhin, the Para-Brahman. You are the akshara (the unchanging) and the Paramapada. You are the Jyeshṭha, Rudra and Skanda. You are Śiva, the yajña, the vashaṭkāra, the Oṃkāra and the svāhākāra. All saṃskāras (rites) are you. The call of svadhā is you. The vows and the rules are you. The Vedas, the worlds and the devas are you. You alone are Bhagavān Śiva. You are the sound of ākāśa (space). You are the birthplace and the dissolution of all beings. You are the smell of the earth. You are the taste of the waters. You are the form of fire. You are Maheśvara. You are the touch of the air. You are the master of the devas. You are the body of Candra. You are the knowledge of the mind.”

“You are the seed of Prakṛti. You are the one who draws in all worlds. You are Kāla (Time) like Time itself, and the name Mṛtyu (Death) is only your other name. You hold the three worlds up. You create them. With your east face you take the form of Indra. With your south face you draw back all the worlds. With your west face you are Varuṇa. With your north face you are Soma. Once, and many times over, you alone are both the creation and the end of these worlds.”

“The Ādityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Maruts, the Aśvins, the Sādhyas, the Vidyādharas, the Nāgas, the Cāraṇas, the Vālakhilyas, the great tapasvins and the siddhas, O Deveśa, were all born from you. And beyond these: Umā, Sīta, Sinīvālī, Kuhū, Gāyatrī, Lakshmī, Kīrti, Dhṛti, Medhā, Lajjā, Kānti, Vasu, Svadhā, Tushṭi, Pushṭi, Kriyā, the divine Sarasvatī, Sandhyā and Rātri were all born from you, O Deveśa!”

“You equal ten thousand suns in brightness. Obeisance to you who wear the vajra and the Pināka! Obeisance to you who hold the bow and arrow! Obeisance to you who are smeared with bhasma (holy ash)! Obeisance to you who burned the form of Manmatha! Obeisance to you, O Hiraṇyagarbha, O Hiraṇyavasana, O Hiraṇyayoni, O golden-naveled one, O golden-strong one, O one of a thousand wonderful eyes! Obeisance to you of golden colour, golden hair and golden strength! Obeisance to you who give gold! O Nīlakaṇṭha, O Śaṃkara, obeisance to you!”

The chapter’s prayer speaks of Śiva as the five elements, as all divisions of time (paksha, māsa, ṛtu and saṃvatsara), as the Trimūrti, and as all the divine feminine powers.

Śiva appears

Praised with this full prayer, Devadeva, the wise one, the source of the world, with the brightness of a crore of suns, became visible. Mahādeva Śiva appeared. He was greatly shining and full of compassion. His voice was like the roar of a thousand thunder-clouds and it filled the sky. His throat was like a conch, his belly beautiful, and he was decorated with gold. His wonderful limbs wore many garlands and sweet-smelling pastes. The Pināka was in his hand and the triśūla was raised. He was the great one worshipped by the devas, with serpents as his sacred thread, and he gave abhaya (freedom from fear) to all the devas. He gave a great laugh, and its echoes filled the whole world like the sound of a dundubhi (drum) and the rolling of clouds.

Mahādeva Śiva spoke: “O best of the devas, I am pleased. See my great power of yoga. Put away all fear. You are both eternal. You were born from my body. The four-faced Brahmā came from my right arm, and this unconquered Vishṇu came from my left arm. I am deeply pleased with both of you. Ask for any vara (boon) you wish.”

Their hearts filled with joy, Brahmā and Vishṇu bowed at the feet of Śiva and said: “O Sureśvara, if you are pleased with us and wish to give us a vara, let us always remain full of bhakti (devotion) to you.”

Devadeva Śiva answered: “Tathāstu (so be it). O you of great enjoyment, create beings in great numbers.” With these words Bhagavān Śiva vanished on the spot.

Sources

• Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Poorva Bhāga, Chapter 26