Shloka 24
Pārthiva-Śiva-liṅga-māhātmya
The Excellence of the Earthen Śiva Liṅga
मृडेनाप्रमितान्वर्षाञ्छिवलोकेहि तिष्ठति । सकामः पुनरागत्य राजेन्द्रो भारते भवेत्
mṛḍenāpramitānvarṣāñchivalokehi tiṣṭhati | sakāmaḥ punarāgatya rājendro bhārate bhavet
بنعمة مُرِضَة (شِيفا) يمكث المرء في عالم شِيفا سنين لا تُحصى؛ فإن بقيت فيه الشهوات عاد ثانيةً فصار ملكًا ذا سيادة في بهاراتا (الهند).
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: As part of the Viśveśvarasaṃhitā’s Kāśī-centered frame, merit from Śiva-worship culminates in residence in Śiva-loka; if residual desire (kāma) persists, the jīva returns to embodied life with elevated worldly sovereignty—illustrating graded fruits (bhukti then mukti).
Significance: Bestows both bhukti (worldly attainment) and, when desire is exhausted, mukti; Kāśī/Viśveśvara is classically praised as granting liberation through Śiva’s grace.
FAQs
It distinguishes two outcomes of Śiva-bhakti: by Śiva’s grace one attains Śiva-loka, yet if residual desire (kāma) remains, the soul returns to embodied life—showing that true liberation is freedom from desire, not merely reaching a higher world.
The verse functions as a phala-śruti for Saguna Śiva worship (often via the Liṅga): devotion yields exalted post-mortem states like Śiva-loka, but the quality of the devotee’s intention (desireless vs. desireful) determines whether the result culminates in release or in return to worldly sovereignty.
It implies niṣkāma Śiva-upāsanā—worship with reduced personal desire—such as steady japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya) and Liṅga-pūjā offered as surrender to Śiva, aiming for purification rather than worldly reward.