The greatness of Śiva liṅga
Sūta said:
苏塔说
1. A person incompetent to perform the three rites of Śravaṇa etc. shall fix the liṅga emblem or the image of Śiva and worship them every day. He can thus cross the ocean of worldly existence.
个人无能力修习听闻等三个法门的话，应当修建灵伽（liṅga）象征或湿婆神像每天进行崇拜。这样，他就能跨越世俗存在之海。
2. As far as he can afford, the devotee shall make gifts of wealth too without deceiving others. He shall offer them to the liṅga or the image of Śiva. He must worship them constantly.
信徒在力所能及的范围内，在不欺骗他人情况下奉献财富，他将财富供奉给湿婆灵伽或神像，他必须时时崇拜祂们（指湿婆灵伽和神像）。
3-7. The worship must be performed elaborately. Construction of platforms, ornamental portals, monasteries, temples, holy centres, etc., offerings of cloth, scents, garlands,incense, lamps, with due piety; oblations of various cooked rice, pancakes, pies etc. with side dishes; umbrellas, fans, chowries with all paraphernalia—everything shall be maintained in the worship of Śiva. In fact, all royal homage shall be paid. Circumambulation and obeisance with Japas according to capacity shall be performed. All the different usual rites in worships like invocation shall be maintained with due devotion. A person who worships the liṅga or the image in this manner will attain salvation even without Śravaṇa etc. Many noble men of yore have been uberated solely by this simple worship.
崇拜必须精心进行，搭建平台、装饰门楼、修道院、寺庙、神圣中心等，以应有虔诚供奉布匹、芳香、花环、熏香、香火；供奉各种米饭、薄饼、馅饼等连同配菜；华盖、扇子、拂尘与所有用具都应用于湿婆崇拜。事实上，应该致以一切高贵敬意，应该依能力持咒绕行敬礼。在崇拜中，一切不同常规仪式（比如祈祷）将保持应有虔诚。个人崇拜灵伽或神像，以此获得救赎，即使他没有修习听闻等法门，从前许多高贵人士皆被这种简单的崇拜所吸引。
8. Everywhere the deities are worshipped only in their image. How is it that Śiva is worshipped both in the image and the liṅga?
每个地方，人们都只崇拜神明的神像，为什么湿婆要崇拜神像和灵伽两者？
Sūta said:
苏塔说：
9. O sages, this question is holy and wondrous. Here the speaker is Śiva Himself and not any ordinary person.
圣人啊，这个问题是神圣而奇妙的，在此说者是湿婆本尊而非任何普通人。
10. I shall tell you what Śiva Himself had said and what I heard from my own preceptor. Śiva alone is glorified as Niṣkala (nameless and formless) since He is identical with supreme Brahman.
我将告诉你湿婆亲自说了什么，以及我从我导师那里听到了什么。湿婆本身就是无名无形（Niṣkala）的荣耀，因为他与至上梵是相同的。
11. He is also Sakala as He has an embodied form. He is both Sakala and Niṣkala. It is in his Niṣkala aspect that the Liṅga① is appropriate.
他也是有形的（ Sakala），因为他有一个具身形式。他既是有形的又是无名无形的，用灵伽（象征）他的无形方面是恰当的。
12-13. In the Sakala aspect the worship of his embodied form is appropriate. Since He has the Sakala and Niṣkala aspects He is worshipped both in the Liṅga and in the embodied form by the people and is called the highest Brahman. Other deities, not being Brahman, have no Niṣkala aspect anywhere.
在有形方面，对他具身形式的崇拜是恰当的。因为他具有有形和无名无形方面，故他被人们同时以灵伽和具身形式来崇拜，并被称为至上梵。其他神祗并非梵，不具有任何无名无形方面。
14. Hence the deities are not worshipped in the formless Liṅga symbol. The other deities are both non-Brahman and individual souls.
因此，神祗不被崇拜于无形的灵伽象征中，其他神祗皆非梵，是个体灵魂。
15. In view of their being embodied alone they are worshipped solely in the bodily form. Śaṅkara has Brahmatva and the others Jīvatva.
由于他们是单独的具身，所以他们仅以身体形式被崇拜。商羯罗（Śaṅkara）具有至上梵神格（Brahmatva），其他（神祗）具有人格（Jīvatva）。
16. This has been explained in the meaning of the Praṇava (Om),the essence of Vedānta, by Nandikeśvara②when asked by Sanatkumāra, the intelligent son of Brahmā, at the mountain Mandara.
当南迪科斯瓦拉（Nandikeśvara）②在曼达拉山被萨拉特库马拉（Sanatkumāra，梵天聪明的儿子）请教时，他在诠释OM（Praṇava）的含义——吠檀多的本质中已进行了解释。
Sanatkumāra said:
萨拉特库马拉说：
17-18. The embodied form alone is often observed in the worship of the deities other than Śiva. But both the Liṅga and the embodied forms are seen only in the worship of Śiva. Hence O benevolent one, please tell me precisely making me understand the truth.
具身形式通常只见于湿婆以外的其他神祗的崇拜中，而灵伽和具身形式只见于湿婆崇拜中。因此，仁慈者，请准确地告诉我，让我参透其中真相。
Nandikeśvara said:
南迪科斯瓦拉说：
19. It is impossible to answer this question without revealing the secret of Brahman.
这个问题若不揭示梵之秘密的话，就不可能回答。
20-24. O sinless one, since you are pious I shall tell you what Śiva Himself has said. Since Śiva has the bodiless aspect in virtue of His being the supreme Brahman, the Niṣkala liṅga, in conformity with the Vedic implication, is used only in His worship. Since He has an embodied form as well, His embodied form is also worshipped and accepted by all people. According to the decision in the Vedas, the embodied form alone is to be used in the worship of other deities who are only individual souls embodied. Devas have only the embodied aspect in their manifestation. In sacred literature both the Liṅga and the embodied forms are mentioned for Śiva.
无罪者啊，因为你是虔诚的，我将告诉你湿婆亲口所言。湿婆由于是至上梵，从而具有无形的方面，无形的灵伽（Niṣkala liṅga）符合吠陀意蕴，仅被用于湿婆崇拜中。由于湿婆也具有具身形式，他的具身形式也被所有人崇拜和接受。根据《吠陀经》的决定，只有具身形式被用于其他神祗崇拜中，他们只是具身的个体灵魂。天神们在显化中仅有具身方面，关于湿婆在圣典中提到具有灵伽和具身两种形式。
Sanatkumāra said:
萨拉特库马拉说：
25. O Fortunate one, you have explained the worship of liṅga and image distinctly for Śiva and the other deities. Hence, O lord of Yogins, I wish to hear the feature of the manifestation of the liṅga aspect of Śiva.
幸运者啊，您已经清楚解释了湿婆和其他神祗的灵伽和神像崇拜，因此，瑜伽士之主啊，我想听闻湿婆灵伽方面的表现特征。
Nandikeśvara said:
南迪科斯瓦拉说：
26-27. O dear one, out of love for you I shall tell you the truth. Long long ago, in the famous first Kalpa, ③ the noble souls Brahmā and Viṣṇu fought each other.
哦，亲爱的，出于对你的爱，我将告诉你真相。很久以前，在著名的第一劫③时，高贵的灵魂梵天和毗湿奴互相争斗。
28. In order to eradicate their arrogance lord Parameśvara showed his unembodied Niṣkala form in the form of a column in their midst.
为了消除他们的自大，至上主（Parameśvara）在他们中间显现为光柱形的非具身无形的形式。
29. He showed his liṅga emblem separate, evolved out of the column, with a desire to bless the worlds.
他显现了灵伽的独立象征，即由光柱演化而来，带着祝福世界的愿望。
30. From that time onwards the divine liṅga and the embodied image, both, were assigned to Śiva alone.
从那时起神圣灵伽和具身形式两者只适用于湿婆。
31. The embodied form alone was assigned to deities other than Śiva. The different types of the embodied forms of the different Devas yield only enjoyments. In regard to Śiva the liṅga emblem and the embodied form together bestow auspicious enjoyment and salvation.
而湿婆以外的其他神祗只适用于具身形式，不同天神的不同类型具身形式只产生享乐，而湿婆灵伽象征连同具身形式赐予吉祥享乐和救赎。
① Śiva-liṅga: the liṅga emblem of Śiva which is universally worshipped.
湿婆灵伽：是被普遍崇拜的湿婆的灵伽象征。
② Nandikeśvara: One of the attendants of Śiva
南迪科斯瓦拉：湿婆的随从之一。
③ The term Kalpa in a precise sense means a vast cosmic period but this seems to have been a later application of it, when the scheme of cosmological time was developed. It is often used in a simpler and unspecialized way to mean ‘aperiod of time’, ‘an age.’ This seems to have been its earlier signification, as where it is said ‘Purā Kalpe, mahākāle’ in old time, long, long ago. In such texts Purākalpa is often used loosely and has the general sense of ‘Old time’.
术语“一劫”（Kalpa）确切地说指一个浩瀚的宇宙周期，但这似乎是它后来的应用，在宇宙时间架构被发展以后。它通常以一种更简单和非专门化的方式来表示“一段时间”、“一个时代”。这似乎是其先前的意义，那时称为Purā Kalpe, mahākāle，即在往昔，很久很久以前。在这类经文中，Purākalpa常被泛泛使用，具有“往昔”的一般含义。
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