Linga Purana

by B K Chaturvedi

In the list of the eighteen Mahapuranas, the Linga Purana is invariably listed as number eleven. But it does not mean that the Linga Purana was eleventh in the order of composition. There are many rituals in the text and these tend to indicate that the Linga Purana was composed much earlier because it contains many legends and stories that date back to much hoary a period.

Even though the Linga Purana doesn’t conform strictly to the conditions laid down for a Purana to be a Mahapurana. It gives the details of Shiva-pooja and Yoga etc in a most elaborate manner, not found even in the Shiva Purana. It is considered to be a Tamasika Purana. It is divided into two parts-the first part is said to be Poorva Bhaga and the other, Uttara Bhaga. There are one hundred and eighty chapters (Adhyaya) in the first part and fifty five in the subsequent part.

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• Prologue
• Yoga
• A Tussle Between Brahma and Vishnu
• The Ritual Worship of Lord Shiva
• The Tale of Sage Dadheechi
• The Tale of Nandi
• The Yugas and the time Division
• Geography, astronomy and Seasons of the Earth
• The Process of Normal Creation
• The Family of the great Sage Parashara
• The Tripura Destruction
• The Ominous Indications and Dream-analysis
• The Story of demon Jalandhara
• The slaying of the Demon Lord Andhaka
• The slaying of the Demons Hiranyaksha And Hiranyakashyapu
• The Story of Upamanyu
• Sati or Shakti, the First Wife of Lord Shiva
• Uma or Parvati, Shiva’s Second Wife
• Shiva and Uma’s Sons: Kartikeya and Ganesh
• Worship of the Lingam
• Rudraksha: The Eye of Rudra
• Thousand Names of Lord Shiva.

About the Author:

B K Chaturvedi born in a reputed family had his education in Allahabad and Bangalore. His is now a free lance author, journalist and translator based in New Delhi. He has many articles/poems and books published in both Hindi and English to his credit. Prominent among them are the metered-verse English translation of the famous epic of modern Hindi, Kamayani. A prolific writer, he often writes for TV and Radio.