Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 56
दीक्षितपुत्रस्य दैन्यचिन्ता तथा शिवरात्र्युपासनाप्रसङ्गः / The Initiate’s Son in Distress and the Occasion of Śivarātri Worship
ग्रामाधीशान्समाहूय सर्वान्स विषयस्थितान् । इत्थमाज्ञापयामास दीपा देयाश्शिवालये
grāmādhīśānsamāhūya sarvānsa viṣayasthitān | itthamājñāpayāmāsa dīpā deyāśśivālaye
Er ließ die Dorfvorsteher und alle in den Bezirken eingesetzten Männer zusammenrufen und erließ folgenden Befehl: „Im Tempel Śivas sollen Lampen dargebracht werden.“
Suta Goswami (narrating the Rudrasaṃhitā account to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: Administrative propagation of temple lamp-offering: the king institutionalizes a daily act of worship, sustaining dharma in society.
Significance: Highlights collective merit: when leaders organize temple service, many participate and accrue puṇya; supports continuity of worship (nitya-kriyā).
Mantra: “dīpā deyāḥ śivālaye” (injunctive devotional refrain; not a Vedic mantra)
Role: nurturing
Offering: dipa
FAQs
The verse elevates dīpa-dāna (offering a lamp) as a simple, public act of bhakti that spreads auspiciousness and supports collective worship of Pati (Śiva), drawing the mind from darkness (ignorance) toward divine awareness.
Lighting a lamp in a Śiva-alaya is a Saguna mode of worship—serving Śiva as present in the temple and in the Liṅga—where devotion is expressed through tangible offerings that steady attention and reverence.
Perform deepa-dāna in a Śiva temple—light a clean oil/ghee lamp before the Liṅga, mentally offer the light to Śiva, and (if desired) accompany it with japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya.”