Shloka 17

Adhyaya 34: भस्ममहात्म्यं—अग्नीषोमात्मक-शिवतत्त्वं तथा पाशुपतव्रतप्रशंसा

Devanagari script

तत्सर्वं दहते भस्म यथाग्निस्तेजसा वनम् तस्माद् यत्नपरो भूत्वा त्रिकालमपि यः सदा

Transliteration

tatsarvaṃ dahate bhasma yathāgnistejasā vanam tasmād yatnaparo bhūtvā trikālamapi yaḥ sadā

Translation

Diese (śaivische) Übung verbrennt alles zu Asche, wie das Feuer durch seine eigene Glut einen Wald verzehrt. Darum soll man im Bemühen standhaft sein und an den drei Tagesübergängen die Observanz stets vollziehen.

Word by Word

• tat-sarvam: all that (pāpa/impurities/bondages)

• dahate: burns up

• bhasma: into ash

• yathā: just as

• agniḥ: fire

• tejasā: by (its) radiance/power

• vanam: a forest

• tasmāt: therefore

• yatna-paraḥ: devoted to effort/discipline

• bhūtvā: having become

• tri-kālam api: even at the three times (morning, noon, evening)

• yaḥ: whoever/one who

• sadā: always, continually

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Linga Purana’s Shaiva discipline to the sages of Naimisharanya, echoing the Purana’s internal teaching tradition)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Agni

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It teaches that regular trikāla (thrice-daily) Shaiva observance—centered on Linga-upāsanā and disciplined effort—destroys accumulated pāpa and loosens pāśa (bondage), making worship transformative rather than merely formal.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

By comparing the effect of practice to fire’s innate power, it implies Shiva as Pati whose śakti burns impurity: when the pashu (soul) aligns with Shiva’s ordinance through sādhana, obscurations are reduced like a forest to ash.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Trikāla-sandhyā style discipline—steady effort and regular daily observance—typical of Pāśupata-ācāra, often expressed through Linga-pūjā, mantra-japa, and bhasma-related purity symbolism.