B.K. Chaturvedi - Linga Purana

Our salutations to Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the sustainer; and Shiva, the destroyer. We also pray to the sages Nara and Narayana and the goddess of learning Saraswati. We also pay our obeisance to Sage Vedavyasa who made all the sacred texts accessible to us. We are entitled to read the sacred prayers only after saying these prayers.

Once Sage Narada, travelling all over the cosmos and he said: Since thou, O Shiva, hast treated me with contempt in preferring the embrace of Parvati, your forms of worship shall be the Linga (phallus) and Yoni (vagina).]

He said that the Linga represented regenerative power of the world. It is believed to be the origin of all creations.

He said that the divine essence is known as the Brahman. In the very beginning Brahman was the only entity in the universe. There was nothing else. It was this Brahman who divided himself into three different parts called Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma became the creator; Vishnu, the sustainer and Shiva, the destroyer.

In the very beginning there was only water in the universe. In the water a gigantic egg (Anda) appeared. Brahma emerged from this egg which also contained all the worlds that were likely to be created.

During Brahmas day, creation flourishes. But during his night there is destruction (Pralaya). When Brahma emerged out of the primordial egg, that constituted the original process of creation (Sarga). But following the process of destruction that takes place during Brahmas night, there is also a periodical process of recreation (Pratisarga). Maheshwara (Lord Shiva Supreme) is the ultimate authority to cause this formal process of Sarga and Pratisarga. The realms with their presiding deities, sages stay during the Sarga and get dissolved in the oblivion during Pratisarga.

According to the Linga Purana, the smallest unit of time is a nimesha which is equal to the time taken in blinking ones eyes. Fifteen nimeshas make one Kastha, 30 Kashtas one Kala Treta Yuga and Dwapar Yuga of five hundred years, that between Dwapar and Kali Yuga of three hundred years and between Kali Yuga and the new Satya Yuga of five hundred years. These intervening periods make two thousand years. Thus the total span of a Mahayuga is of 12000 divine years.

In terms of human years the Satya Yuga is of 1.440,000 years, Treta of 1,080,000 years, Dwapar of 7,20,000 years and Kali Yuga of 3,60,000. So this Yuga cycle is 3,600,000 human years long. Adding 7,20,000 years for the Sandhyamsha, a Mahayuga is actually of 4,320,000 human years long.

A Manvantara consists of a little over 71 Mahayugas which means that a Manvantara would be equal to 296,720,000 human years. In all there are actually 306,720,000 human years in a Manvantara.

One thousand Mahayugas make

When Brahmas one day ends, the entire universe and all the beings therein are destroyed. But the Super Deities, viz: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, remain intact as they are the initiations of the fresh creation. Each cycle starts when there is total darkness and water everywhere. Vishnu remains asleep on this water. [One epithet of Vishnu is Narayana which literally means one who has his abode in water. Impliedly Vishnu signifies life because where there is water there is lifeas 15 Corroborated by even the modern science.]

When Brahmas day dawns he begins the process of creation afresh.

In the present cycle Brahma first created three sons through three mental powers (psychic sons. Some accounts say he created four sons). Their names are Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatan and Sanat-kumara. These were child sages as they started performing great penance right since their childhood. They are always depicted as children. But since they did nothing to enhance creation through the normal process, Brahma had to create another nine sons through his mental powers. Their names are Mareechi, Bhrigu, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Daksha, Atri and Vashishtha.

But since they did little to enhance the creation in the normal process, in order to ensure that creation progressed further, Brahma next divided his body into two halves. The male half was known as Swayambhoo Manu, the female half as Shataroopa. These two halves married and had two sons and two daughters. The names of the sons were Uttanapada and Priyavarta and that of the two daughters were Akuti and Prasuti.