Shloka 34

Pārthiva-Śiva-liṅga Saṃkhyā-vidhāna

Enumeration and Procedure of Earthen Liṅga Worship

Devanagari script

लिंगेर्चितेर्चितं सर्वं जगत्स्थावरजंगमम् । संसारांबुधिमग्नानां नान्यत्तारणसाधनम्

Transliteration

liṃgercitercitaṃ sarvaṃ jagatsthāvarajaṃgamam | saṃsārāṃbudhimagnānāṃ nānyattāraṇasādhanam

Translation

إذا عُبِدَ شِيفا-لِنغا فكأنما عُبِدَ الكونُ كلُّه، ساكنُه ومتحرّكُه. أمّا الغارقون في محيط السَّمسارا فلا وسيلةَ أخرى ناجعة لعبورِه.

Word by Word

• liṅge: in/at the liṅga
• liṅge: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Saptamī (Locative/सप्तमी), Ekavacana

• arcite: when (it is) worshipped
• arcite: Adhikaraṇa (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: arcita (कृदन्त; √arc/अर्च् धातु)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Saptamī, Ekavacana; Kta (क्त) past passive participle used in locative absolute sense with liṅge

• arcitam: (becomes) worshipped
• arcitam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: arcita (कृदन्त; √arc/अर्च् धातु)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Prathamā/Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; Kta participle agreeing with sarvam

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• jagat-sthāvara-jaṅgamam: the world of immobile and mobile beings
• jagat-sthāvara-jaṅgamam: Apposition (Sāmānādhikaraṇya/सामानाधिकरण्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक) + sthāvara (प्रातिपदिक) + jaṅgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; determinative compound: ‘the world consisting of immobile and mobile (beings)’

• saṃsāra-aṃbudhi-magnānām: of those immersed in the ocean of worldly existence
• saṃsāra-aṃbudhi-magnānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक) + aṃbudhi (प्रातिपदिक) + magna (कृदन्त; √maj/मज्ज् धातु)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Bahuvacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘those sunk in the ocean of saṃsāra’ (magnānām = gen. pl. of magna)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Pratiṣedha-nipāta (negation)

• anyat: anything else
• anyat: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• tāraṇa-sādhanam: a means of deliverance
• tāraṇa-sādhanam: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + sādhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘means for crossing (deliverance)’

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Sadāśiva

Jyotirlinga Context

Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha

Sthala Purana: The verse’s claim that liṅga-worship equals worship of the whole moving/immovable cosmos aligns with Kāśī Viśvanātha’s theology: Śiva as Viśveśvara (Lord of the universe) is approached through the liṅga as the universal locus of grace and liberation.

Significance: Liṅga-arcana as the supreme upāya (means) for crossing saṃsāra; emphasizes Śiva’s anugraha as uniquely salvific for the bound soul.

Mantra Metadata

Type: stotra

Shakti Dimension

Role: liberating

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Linga

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It declares the Śiva-liṅga as the all-inclusive locus of worship: honoring the Liṅga equals honoring the whole cosmos, and it is presented as the foremost means for liberation from saṃsāra in a Shaiva Siddhanta sense—Pati (Śiva) alone grants deliverance to the bound soul.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

The Liṅga functions as the accessible (saguṇa) focus through which the devotee approaches the transcendent Śiva; worship offered to the Liṅga is understood to reach Śiva who pervades all beings, hence the verse says the whole moving and unmoving world is worshipped thereby.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Regular Liṅga-arcana (archana/abhisheka with devotion), supported by japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” is the implied practice for crossing saṃsāra; on Mahāśivarātri this is especially emphasized through night-long worship.